Fallen Leaf
by Miropa
Summary: Naruto's entire life is devoted to the dream of being Hokage, but when his life is nearly ended and his mask begins to breakdown, who will be there to help him? Rated M for violence and adult themes, eventual NaruKiba
1. Snake in the Grass

Fallen Leaves

**Obligatory Authors Note:** If I owned Naruto, this would be in the Manga or Anime, but I don't. Anyway just a couple of quick housekeeping things while I have your attention (even thought I probably don't). First, I do not use Japanese words that do not fit in the English grammar, so you will never see a san, chan, nani, arigato, or anything like that here. I personally find it maddening when someone does that, even worse when they don't provide plebian's like me with a translation. So yea, micro rant over, now lets get on with the show. I'll try my best to get an update out every Sunday. And for anyone familiar with my other stories and who may be curious where the hell I've been for two years, well I was in two car accidents, both that required major surgeries to repair. Hopefully that won't happen again

ANYWHO! On With the Show!!

Chapter One: A Snake in the Grass

Two weeks. Fourteen days seven hours 52 minutes and 8 seconds since Orochimaru had fought that blonde brat, and nearly lost, at the Heaven and Earth bridge. Adding insult to injury, he even had to loose a perfectly good hideout when the brats team had that pale boy named Sai infiltrate his base and revealed its location.

There was simply no way Orochimaru could stand for such an insult. The very thought of that boys face made his blood boil, had it not been for Tsunade's intervention three years ago then the whelp would already be dead and forgotten. The Akatsuki's plans would be in shambles and Orochimaru would have one less thing for Sasuke to think about, making his training go even better.

There was simply no way around it now.

"Kabuto."

"Yes Lord Orochimaru?" the gray haired man replied, turning to face his master.

"I have a mission for you," the gaunt man said with his hands folded in front of his face, the faintest trace of a smirk forming at the corners of his mouth.

"Anything my lord." Kabuto said as he sunk to one knee, head bowed humbly.

"I want you to assume a disguise, infiltrate the Hidden Leaf Village, and kill that pesky Naruto boy, preferably slowly and painfully." his smile revealing itself to the younger man.

"With pleasure my lord"

"Oh and Kabuto,"

"Yes my lord?"

"I want you to make it slow and painful, and to that end I have something for you to use…" Orochimaru rose lazily from his throne, and after a light stretch, proceeded to walk down a corridor on his left which led to the medical wing. An ironic name for the area considering that Kabuto had never used the place to heal a single thing, but rather, he an Orochimaru had used it to discover new Justu and…experiment on anyone with a promising ability that they encountered. litt

"Lord Orochimaru?"

"Yes Kabuto?"

"What is this thing you wish me to use?"

"A little something I learned from Sasori when I was still a member of Akatsuki. He called it the White Scorpion." Orochimaru began gathering vials filled with various chemicals and elements.

"It was his ultimate poison, though he never liked using it as it takes a very long time for the victim to die, long enough that a smart enough doctor could heal the poor soul." Orochimaru chuckled "Sasori never did have much patience"

" However it leaves the target completely vulnerable for an extended length of time, cutting off ones ability to use chakra. " Orochimaru smiled slightly "I doubt even dear Tsunade could cure this"

Kabuto smiled slightly as well, stepping up to the table and taking an empty beaker from the storage cabinet underneath it.

"Well my lord, how do I make it?"

Far away, the sun was shining in Konoha. People walked through the streets carrying about their individual businesses. Towards the outskirts of the city, in the woods around the training field just inside the walls, Naruto Uzumaki sat under a tree, his black and orange jacket lying next to him as he teased the tip of a kunai over his left arm.

Naruto wasn't the kind it wasn't the kind of person for cutting, it was messy, time consuming, and most importantly it was all but impossible for him to buy the band-aids he would need to care for the cuts. It also didn't help that if he were to cut himself the Nine-Tailed Fox would never let him hear the end of it. And since they shared a body the fox could make his life hell 24/7 if he wanted to.

In order to better control the Fox's power, Jiraiya had taught Naruto how to establish a dialogue with the beast, and while he wouldn't say that they were friends nor that they even liked each other, both the blond Shinobi and the nine tailed demon had no choice but to trust one another...and the Fox had made it very clear that he would not heal any wound that the boy inflicted upon himself unless it put the Fox's existence lives in danger.

Still the temptation to try cutting was almost unbearable at times. In spite of all his hard work, only a select few of the Shinobi community saw Naruto as a person instead of a monster. Granted that was helped by Tsunade being the Fifth Hokage, and since she considered Naruto like a little brother, no Shinobi would dare to discriminate against him in her presence. However, she couldn't watch him all the time, and neither could his friends be there all the time. That was when Naruto took what he had come to call his "exercise".

Usually it consisted of emotional endurance drills, the villagers and their children whispering or shouting things at him. He personally preferred when they whispered as he passed over when they shouted as when they whispered he could just pretend they were admiring his growth and looking forward to when he was the sixth Hokage. When they shouted it was the usual affair of 'monster', 'demon', and death wishes in one form or another.

He had almost developed a perverted pleasure in the interspaced agility and physical endurance exercises that were thrown (literally) in between the emotional endurance exercises. Spending his first 13 years of life dodging rocks, cans, bottles, apple cores, and other trash had actually made him faster on his feet and more nimble in his Ninja work, after all, if you can dodge a rock thrown at your back on a crowded street, then you had a decent chance of dodging a Kunai thrown at your face in the field.

And on the odd chance that the rocks hit their target, usually his head, then he got his endurance training in pain management. It was truly a symbiotic relationship if you looked at it right, the people of the Hidden Leaf Village got to take out their stresses on their favorite scapegoat/demon container, and Naruto got that much more training…granted the headaches were a bitch to deal with when you can't afford any medicine or get the landlord to fix your freezer. And even then, the lack of a freezer taught Naruto another important lesson; eat all you can while you can for you can never be sure when your next meal will be, nor how much you'll get.

He sighed heavily as he rested the back of his head against the tree behind him. He just wished it was so easy to pretend that the laughter that he heard after every rock, can, bottle, or other refuse hit him was so easy to ignore or spin in a positive light. He cracked open his blue eyes tiredly and stared long and hard at the kunai in his hand, wishing the damn thing could give him the answers he so desperately sought.

He dug in the pocket of his pants and pulled out the old silver pocket watch Jiraiya had given him for a birthday present the first year that they were traveling together. To say that the gift had stunned the young Shinobi would have been an understatement of the highest order, after all, it was the second gift he had ever received, the first being Iruka's headband.

Clicking it open he read the time, 9:45 am, that meant he had fifteen minutes to get over to the mission offices to see if Team 7 had anything interesting to do today, though with Kakashi still on the mend and Yamato out of town on an ANBU assignment, that prospect was unlikely at best.

"Oh well," he said to nothing in particular "Nothing ventured nothing gained!" he plastered his happy-go-lucky face back on and reached his arms out, stretching his back until his efforts were rewarded with a satisfying crack down his spine. That business done he collected his ninja tools from his morning training and started his leisurely walk to the mission offices. All the while failing to notice the Ninja watching him from a few trees away.

On his way he idly watched the clouds overhead, he felt like Shikamaru for a moment as he briefly wondered what it would be like to be a cloud. The thought of the lazy genius made him snicker to himself…even as he tilted his head to the left to avoid a rock.

When would these people learn? He was always at his best after morning training.

After striking out at the mission office yet again, and throwing another loud tantrum about it (as per what Tsunade had come to call 'Naruto Ritual') he left the building in a semi-serious huff. Wondering what he would with his day now, until he ran into Kiba Inazuka, and in an instant his façade was back in full view.

"Heya Dog-Breath!" he shouted a little louder then was necessary, the yell rewarded by a sour look on the taller boys face

"Heya back knuckle-head"

"What brings you around here Kiba? And Where's Akamaru, you guys are never apart!" Kiba just shrugged his shoulders, stopping a meter and a half in front of Naruto, leaning on his left hip absently with his hands in his pockets

"Akamaru's at home sleeping, I'm just here to get some information on my teams mission tomorrow. Shikamaru's supposed to be in the office today. Seen him?" Kiba couldn't help but smirk as he saw Naruto deflate at hearing how the other boy had a mission.

"He must be on a break then, cause I didn't see him when I was up there." Naruto grumbled. Kiba snickered at his friends irritation and couldn't resist taking a few jabs.

"So I take it you've got some super-secret awesome A+ ranked mission you're heading out for now?"

Naruto glared daggers at Kiba for a good ten seconds before replying.

"Man, that was just plain cold"

Kiba couldn't resist laughing out loud at the pout on Naruto whiskered face.

Kabuto had to say he was impressed with how Naruto had grown up so far, he was almost ashamed to have to kill him. But as it stood now, he could no longer take Naruto in a head to head fight, the boy was faster, stronger, smarter, and most of all just as unpredictable as before. Put together those were an extremely dangerous combination. Plus Naruto had the Chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox to fall back on, that was just one more weapon in his arsenal.

Kabuto had been observing Naruto for two weeks now, every day the boy stuck to more or less the same schedule. At 6:00 am he woke up and stumbled into the bathroom. By 6:30 he stumbled back out in nothing but a towel, he tended to lounge around for a between three to ten minutes before getting dressed.

About 7:00 he made something for breakfast, usually Ramen, though there was the odd occasion where he ate a bowl of cereal. He drank milk from the carton and had a fairly empty fridge, Kabuto had yet to see the blond idiot open his freezer. He would finish his meal between 7:20 and 7:40 depending on what he made and how long it took him to clean up.

At 9 a.m. Naruto was at the training grounds where he exercised and practiced until 11:00, taking only a five-minute break after an hour of work. After that he tended to go to the missions office, presumably to check if there was anything for team 7 to do, so far it seemed those trips were all met with failure.

After that he would usually make a lunch stop at Ichiraku's for lunch, and by 1:00 he was either doing something with one of the other rookie 9, or back at the training field. He generally returned to his apartment at 9:30 in the evening where he seemed to study the various scrolls that littered his home. He didn't seem to own any electronics, but judging by how Kabuto had observed the other villagers vandalizing his home when he wasn't around, that was probably in the boys better interests.

Kabuto smiled to himself, it was impossible to restrain his excitement. Even with all Naruto had done to help the Village, most of the population still hated him. Kabuto couldn't resist using that, after all, he preferred to keep his hands clean. Of course he would _NEVER_ force people into doing something, after all, Kimimaro had sacrificed himself to retrieve Sasuke of his own free will. Death was just the price of entry. With his reconnaissance complete to his satisfaction, Kabuto would put his plans into action immediately.

It was child's play for Kabuto to eliminate all traces of his scent and pick the lock of Naruto's apartment. As he walked in he wrinkled his nose in disgust at the potent Ramen smell that filled the cramped space. Shaking his head in irritation Kabuto decided to just do what he came for and not stick around to explore. Opening the refrigerator he found what he was looking for; Naruto's milk bottle. The boy drank straight from the bottle every morning, and this one was half filled.

Reaching into his hip pouch he produced two latex gloves and a capped syringe. Pulling the gloves on and carefully grasping the plastic milk bottle in his right hand so it wouldn't move he then just as methodically untwisted the cap and set it to the side.

'_Exactly three and a quarter turns' _he noted to himself.

Removing the syringe cap with his teeth he stuck the needle into the bottle and emptied all 15 milliliters of the milky white substance from the chamber and into Naruto's milk. Putting the cap back on the syringe and stashing them in his pouch again, he pulled out a tongue depressor and gave the milk a gentle mix. Putting that away he twisted the cap back on, exactly three and a quarter turns.

Smiling at his handiwork he then proceeded to form the 10 necessary hand signs to activate the poison. All it took was focusing his chakra on the milk and…presto.

'_It's ready,' _he mused as he exited the apartment and locked the door behind him '_Sasori's greatest concoction, the White Scorpion'_

Kabuto took up a position in the tree's overlooking Naruto's apartment; after all, he wouldn't want to miss this show for anything. He made himself comfortable as this could be a long night.

"And CRASH the door is kicked down and out pour twenty half naked women each holding a makeshift weapon and mad as hell! "Naruto exclaimed loudly at the restaurant he and Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were having dinner at, his hands stretched out wide as he recounted another one of his tails from his time traveling with Jiraiya to his friends.

"So we start running, wearing nothing but a couple of towels with our clothes and backpacks in hand, and the pervy-sage trips on a tree root and gets the hell beaten out of him by these crazy women!"

Kiba had his forehead on the table, shoulders shaking as he tried to contain his laughter. Shino, the usually dark and silent Chunin from Kiba's team was chuckling lightly, an act that Kiba had minutes before been claiming was impossible. Next to him sat Shikamaru, the Leaf villages laziest genius. He just shook his head as he wiped tears from his eyes; Chouji was nearly choking on his food from laughing.

"Naruto," Shikamaru said when he finally caught his breath "You always manage to get yourself in way over your head." The blonde boy gave the others his trademark ear-to-ear grin. Checking his watch Shikamaru sighed contently "Well guys, Chouji and I have a mission tomorrow morning, so its time for us to leave" Naruto pouted at that.

"Aww do you guys gotta go so soon?"

"Naruto," Shikamaru started, a lop-sided grin spreading across his face "It's already 11:42 pm, we've been here three hours now"

Naruto chuckled softly and shrugged his slender shoulders, reaching into his pocket he pulled out the money necessary to pay for his food and his chunk of the tip, the others doing likewise.

The five friends bid each other goodnight and went their separate ways, Shino and Kiba heading one way, Shikamaru and Chouji heading another way, and Naruto walking alone. Even though he always went home alone at nights it didn't mean it still didn't hurt. Though it was probably for the best as Naruto noticed a drunk down the road, his apartment was in one of the slummiest parts of town and this time of day was when taking his 'exercise' was the most dangerous.

Before he was old enough to protect himself, the Third Hokage had always had an ANBU officer, or another Jounin watching him and making sure he wasn't hurt. They never spoke to Naruto, never asked him if he needed anything, never stopped the villagers from shouting taunts or insults, and sometimes they didn't even protect him from a rock, bottle, or other projectile. Though Naruto supposed that he might owe those people a small bit of gratitude as that early abuse gave him a good sense of peripheral vision. All those Jounin were there for was to prevent Naruto from being assaulted, murdered, or raped.

As the drunk shuffled closer Naruto almost smirked, this would be fun.

'_Five.'_

The drunken man looked the blond ninja in the eye briefly before glancing down at the dirt as though he didn't know who the blond was.

'_Four.'_

Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets and hummed softly to himself, pretending not to have seen the drunk.

'_Three._'

The drunk and Naruto were almost side by side with each other, Naruto nodded at the man, in a silent greeting, the drunk ignored him and took another step.

'_Two_.'

The drunk took two steps behind Naruto and stopped.

'_And one!_'

With his hand gripping the bottle by the neck the drunk raised the empty vessel up and swung it at Naruto's head like a baseball bat, Naruto instantly dropped to his knees, somersaulting out of the drunks range before standing back up, casually dusting off his pants and jacket, and resuming his walk home. As he walked away he turned to the perplexed looking man and offered a cheeky grin and a wave.

The rest of the walk home was a disappointingly quite affair. However there was more graffiti on his door, which meant that the world was still spinning like normal. It was the usual affair, 'monster', 'burn in hell', 'die', 'freak'. The landlord would make Naruto pay a damn premium to clean it all up, plus an extra fee for 'propriety damage. As he unlocked the door he choose to ignore those problems for another day.

Walking in with a weary sigh Naruto locked the door behind him and unzipped his jacket, tossing it onto the counter lazily. He paused to stretch for a minute, his efforts rewarded with a satisfying series of cracks. Naruto was reminded of why he didn't eat grilled food much as the heartburn worked its way up his chest. Still, the price of admission was worth it to spend time with his friends. He'd had Sasuke stab him in the chest with Chidori and pile-driver him, headfirst, into a rock in their battle at the Valley of the End, he could take some heartburn.

Naruto walked over to his fridge, opening the small white box up and reaching for his half full milk jug, he grinned at the bottle as he opened up the cap and chugged half of the contents.

"Ahhh!" he grinned again as he put the milk away "Does the body good!"

Cheerfully he walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed, little did he know that outside Kabuto was watching his every move, and grinning from ear to ear. Pulling out a capsule sized device Kabuto clicked a small red button located on one end, it would trigger a similar device in Orochimaru's possession that would let his master know that Naruto had ingested the poison. Now it was simply a waiting game.

"Uhhhg…"

When Naruto woke up in the morning, things were defiantly not like normal. His stomach was in an uproar and his head was pounding like someone was using it for a drum. His attempt to sit up was a big mistake as he nearly passed out from the way his head started spinning.

"Note to self: Never go out for grilled again" he groaned as he put his hands over his face. He slowly forced himself into a sitting position, his body was shivering despite how hot he felt. His eyes widened when he felt his mouth start watering uncontrollably and his world started to spin lightly, as fast as he could he got to his bathroom, where he promptly emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He spent the next 20 minutes lying on the cold tile floor of his bathroom in a semi-fetal position; occasionally dry heaving to the porcelain god.

"All right Naruto" he whispered hoarsely, "lets try this again" Pushing himself up a little he paused and waited for the world to stop spinning. When he could he grabbed the sink and hauled himself off the floor, clenching his teeth at the effort.

Thanks to the Nine-Tailed Fox Naruto had never been sick before, vomiting was something he'd only done once before in his life, and that was when the grocer that he went gave Naruto some expired eggs. Fortunately the Third Hokage had came by to check on him the next day and had found the boy praying to the porcelain god. The eggs were disposed of and the grocer was nearly put out of business by a very angry Sarutobi.

Naruto managed to splash some cold water over his face and rinse his mouth out. He noted that it was nearly noon; he'd completely missed his morning training. Frowning he slowly made his way back to his bedroom to get dressed, he could still go to the missions office, and at the very least he could ask Grandma Tsunade for something to ease his stomach. Before he left he drank the rest of his milk, hoping that would be enough to ease his stomach for a while. He decided against eating as the last thing he needed was to throw up on the street.

From his perch in the tree Kabuto chewed on a soldier pill and smiled as he saw Naruto drink the last of the tainted milk bottle.

"Why thank you Naruto, I had put enough poison in that bottle assuming you'd only drink a little of it and it would take a week for the White Scorpion to take effect, but you've got enough of it in you now that you'll be lucky to be walking by the end of the night." Kabuto grinned wide, things were going along too easily.

Tsunade yawned loudly as she signed yet another infernal piece of paper. She swore the damned things were reproducing when she wasn't looking. Just as she started to read the next one on the pile she heard a light series of knocks on her door.

"Enter." She spoke loudly as she looked up with only marginal interest, until she saw Naruto come slinking in, she couldn't ever resist smiling when she saw the boy, he was just like her baby brother.

"Naruto! What are you doing here, shouldn't you be bugging the mission offices at this time of day?" her jesting smirk faded when she got a better look at the boy.

"Heh, sorry granny Tsunade, but I figured it'd be more fun to bug you" he said softly forcing a small and weary smile onto his face.

'_His heart is racing, he's out of breath, his paler then he was the other day, and judging by his posture he's in a good deal of pain. What the hell…'_ The fifth frowned

"Naruto, are you all right? You don't look very well today" She walked over to Naruto, noticing a slight blush as she pointed out his weakness. Placing a hand on his cheek she frowned again and looked Naruto in the eye "What did you get yourself into this time?" He laughed sheepishly, his voice scratchy and hoarse

"Well last night Me and Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, and Chouji went out to that grill place that Chouji and Shikamaru really like, and I think I ate some bad pork, 'cause I-whoa!" His sentence was interrupted as a sudden bout of dizziness hit him, and had his 'big sister' not been there to catch him, he would probably have taken a hard landing on his face.

"All right Naruto, lets get you sitting down for a bit here." She said softly as she guided him onto the couch, the short walk left the normally hyperactive teen winded and sweating, the dimness she saw in his eyes made her very nervous. "Naruto, it looks and sounds like you've got a case of food poisoning, just sit here and rest for a bit and I'll go get you something that should ease the symptoms okay?"

Naruto nodded, and tried not to throw up on her office. She disappeared into her private office for a few minutes before returning with a glass of water and a bottle of pills. She crouched down in front of Naruto and smiled warmly at him, it took his brain a moment to register her presence and he again offered a tired smile. She held up the bottle and glass for him.

"I want you to take these pills, one or two every six to eight hours, they should help your stomach calm down."

"What about the headache, dizziness, and the way my body hurts?" Naruto asked quietly.

"There's nothing we can do about those until your stomach is able to hold food, so you'll just need to deal with is as best you can okay?" She offered him a reassuring smile at his saddened frown. Either myself or Shizune will check up on you when we can okay?"

Nodding Naruto accepted the bottle first, dumping a pill out into his subtly trembling hand. He popped it into his mouth before he reached for the water, though before he could grasp it Tsunade was already holding it to his lips for him, and while he gave he an annoyed look, they both knew he would have dropped the glass if she hadn't helped him.

"There you go. Be careful though as these may make you a little sleepy." She smiled as he downed the pill "Rest here a while and see if that kicks in. Your stomach won't be able to handle much of anything for a while, so tonight and tomorrow you shouldn't eat anything more then a cup of white rice or maybe some plain soba."

Naruto simply nodded, his body far too sore to pout over a few lost meals. The way he turned his head allowed Tsunade noticed a red spot above his right ear. Brushing her fingers over it she frowned when they came away with fresh blood.

"Naruto, what happened to your head?" she asked quietly, the look in her eyes darkening significantly, sending a chill through the blond boy.

"I uhh…tripped and hit my head walking downstairs on my way here." He lied. Naruto wouldn't even tell Iruka that the people still attacked him from time to time. He knew if he told her that the blood in his hair was from a good sized rock that a man had thrown which he didn't notice in his weakened state, Tsunade was likely to level the whole district.

"Shizune!" Tsunade called, the woman in question appearing a moment later.

"Yes my lady?"

"I need you to take Naruto home and make sure he's got what he needs to get through a bad case of food poisoning."

Naruto opened his mouth to complain that he didn't need help, but Tsunade flicked him on the forehead before he could start speaking.

"Very well Lady Tsunade. Will there be anything else?" The raven haired woman asked with a warm smile as she observed the pseudo-siblings interact.

"Do whatever you feel needs to be done." Tsunade replied, a look in her eye that Shizune was a bit taken aback by. Tsunade suspected something more then food poisoning, but nothing she could diagnose…yet.

"I understand, all right Naruto," Shizune said cheerfully as she walked over to Naruto, helping the pale boy to his feet, slinging his arm over her shoulders "up we go."

"I'm, whoa!" a wave of vertigo hit Naruto, cutting off his sentence. Tsunade put the bottle of medication into his coat pocket, patting it gently.

"Remember Naruto, no more then two in a six hour period." He nodded wearily.

In a flash, Shizune vanished in a cloud of smoke, taking the boy with her and Tsunade allowed herself a sigh. There was something wrong with Naruto, something that wasn't food poisoning but nothing that she could put her finger on. All she could do for now was wait, watch, and hope to the gods she was just being paranoid.

It hadn't taken Shizune long to get Naruto back to his home, she got him to sit down on the edge of his bed and ordered him to change out of his normal clothes and into whatever his preferred idea for pajamas were, Since he knew she would most likely be in and out for a while, he opted for the pajama pants and a t-shirt like he used to wear when he was younger, mostly because it wouldn't be polite to strip down to his underwear while company was around.

She left his pills on the nightstand with several bottles of water, the seal on the lids broken so he wouldn't have to exert himself much. While he had complained bitterly over being so babied he secretly was cherishing this new feeling. Never in his life could he remember being so well taken care of, the doctors in the hospital had barely paid any attention to him, no matter how grievous his wounds were.

After the failed Sasuke retrieval mission, despite being nearly killed, Naruto had been bandaged up and put in a secluded room where nobody ever came to check on him. It had been depressing, but at the same time Naruto was glad that nobody was there to see or hear the meltdown he had. Nobody even noticed the bruises on his head that he had pounded into himself, nor the tear-streaks on his whiskered face.

Shizune stretched as she finished her work. She had Naruto tucked in, with water and his pills in easy access. She even got the books he had lying around and put them on his nightstand incase he wanted something to read.

Walking back into Naruto's bedroom she smiled as she saw him sleeping. It was by no means a peaceful sleep, his face was marred by a frown and his brows were furrowed in discomfort, but sleep would help him heal. She pulled down the shades on his windows and quietly left his apartment, locking the door on her way out.

From his perch outside Kabuto scowled. He remembered fighting Shizune three years ago, and the only reason he was still alive was because of her underestimation of his skills…not to mention a few soldier pills. With her and the Hokage keeping an eye on the nine-tailed brat things would be much more challenging; however Kabuto had planned for that. After all, he had all the time in the world, and no medications could stop the poison from reaching its second stage. Kabuto had been awestruck when Orochimaru revealed to him what the White Scorpion did to its victims.

-Flashback-

"_How does this poison work lord Orochimaru?" he asked, Orochimaru laughed softly as he mixed a pale white fluid in a beaker, a candle under the beaker heating the contents just enough for the mixing to work._

"_Within 24 hours of ingestion the White scorpion the victim will experience symptoms that resemble sever food poisoning, but that is just a feint, in reality the poison disabling the entire chakra network, making it impossible to perform any Justu and making it almost impossible for healing ninjutsu to be of any use."_

"_Right…Healing justu's generally work through running ones chakra through another's chakra system, without that the damage can only be treated through conventional means." Kabuto mused as he pushed his glasses up. "Sasori truly was a genius"_

-End Flashback-

Kabuto stretched his back a little as he settled himself into a slightly relaxed position. Naruto had been poisoned for only one day and it would be at least another five days before Kabuto could advance to the next phase of his plan. Until then, all he needed to do was wait and watch.


	2. The First Night

Authors Note: Just a short update this week as I had a ton of projects due last week and one more due in the morning. Thanks for all the reviews, it really helps me keep going . )

The next chapter will be on Sunday and will be longer then chapter one, I may add another short chapter in the next few days to pad make up for the shortness of this one. Thanks again everyone and enjoy!

Chapter Two: The First Night

A low groan of pain escaped Naruto's lips as he was unceremoniously dragged from his nice escape of sleep back into the waking world. His head was throbbing, his throat was dry and sore, and worst of all was the pain, it emanated from nowhere and yet everything was affected.

Every muscle in his body screamed in protest of life, to remain still hurt, to move hurt, the touch of the blankets hurt, but to remove them made him feel as though he were being frozen to the bone. He tried to open his eyes but only succeeded in making his headache worse.

He couldn't remember where he was, how he got there, what time or day it was, or how long he was writhing in his bed before he felt a warm hand on his forehead, healing chakra poured into him, easing the pain. He felt the hand leave, replaced by a damp washcloth, his body shivered and he let out a strangled moan.

There was a voice, he heard everything the voice said, but he couldn't understand a thing. He let out a weak wail as a hand slipped under his head and lifted him up to a steeper incline. While the gesture was done with the utmost tenderness, it only caused the greatest of pain. Tears freely escaped his tightly squeezed eyes, the feel of them sliding down his cheeks burned his skin as though they were tears of molten iron.

He felt a glass press against his lips, cool liquid touching his lips, his pained throat screamed for moisture, and his lips parted in accordance. The water was cold, yet it seemed to burn his esophagus on the way down. Naruto managed not to gag much, and the more he drank the more his throat was soothed. When the glass was pulled away he was lowered gingerly back to the pillow. He didn't know how long he laid there panting and writhing, but he was oh so glad when the nothingness of sleep took him again.

Tsunade frowned heavily as she watched Naruto writhe in his bed, her frown only relaxing when his breathing began to even out as sleep took him. The Sanin turned Hokage was glad she decided to check on Naruto before turning in for the evening. She hadn't gotten finished with her work until almost 1:00 am, and Shizune had been too busy at the hospital treating some critically injured Jounin who were ambushed on their mission. It just felt unfair of Tsunade to ask her apprentice and confidant to check on her 'kid brother' after such an exhausting day.

When she arrived at Naruto's apartment she found that he was still in bed, soaking in his own sweat and quaking heavily. She had grown worried when she hadn't been able to wake him and her gentle touch on his arm had mad him recoil as though he'd been stabbed.

She counted the pills in the bottle she gave him, 99 out of 100. Frowning again she walked into Naruto's kitchen and began her search for a glass, a surprisingly easy task given how little Naruto had in his kitchen. Three plates, three water glasses, three knives and three forks, and one black coffee cup with the Leaf Village insignia stenciled on it in white.

Taking one of the glasses back to his bedside she took two of the pills from the bottle and, placing them in the palm of her left hand, she touched the tip of her right index finger to one pill and her middle finger on the other. Taking a breath she focused her chakra into them, in an instant both pills were turned to powder, which she poured into the glass. Filling the glass half full with water from one of the untouched bottles Shizune had left Naruto on his nightstand she used her chakra to mix the medicine into the water.

The look of pain on Naruto's face when she had lifted his head to drink had made the Hokage's heart wrench. To hear his gags as he tried to drink the water too fast made her wish she could trade places with him. When he finished his water she laid him back down as gingerly as she could and got a cool washcloth for his forehead. She decided that this would be one of those sleepless nights as she pulled up a chair by Naruto's bedside and got comfortable for the evening.

With the pills totally diluted into water it only took a few minutes for Naruto's breathing to slow down and the pained look on his face to relax as sleep took the boy. Tsunade allowed herself a smile, for the moment at least, he was comfortable.

She took a deep breath and relaxed for a moment before she pulled the covers on Naruto down to his hips and, channeling chakra into her hands, she began to take a closer look at him, inside and out. While every single symptom pointed to a severe case of food poisoning, there was something Tsunade felt in her gut, something she couldn't quite put her finger on that told her to keep looking.

To her irritation, the only thing she could find in the boys gut was inflamed cellular walls, a symptom consistent with a food born illness. She wished she had a few bottles of sake with her as she checked his muscles, bones, nerves, and even his chakra network, all she could find was that his chakra network was operating slower then it should be, but that often happened when people were ill so she disregarded it for the moment. She sighed again and leaned back in her chair, taking one of the water bottles off the nightstand and taking a few gulps from it.

"Get better soon Naruto, it's too painful for me to see you in this state." She whispered tenderly as she leaned back in her borrowed chair, settling herself in for a long night.

Naruto slept relatively peacefully for almost five hours before Tsunade saw his pain returning and gave him another two pills. He still didn't open his eyes, but she could tell he was aware of her presence, at least in some way. That was enough for now. She frowned at the clock struck 7 a.m., it was time for her to get back to the office. She leaned down and kisses Naruto's burning forehead before making her way out.


	3. From The Inside

Chapter Three: From the Inside

Naruto didn't know how he got to the dank and cold halls of the Nine-Tails' prison, but that wasn't the problem, he was used to this place. The problem was how everything was fading in and out of view. He tried to walk, but his legs felt heavy, as though his very bones were made of lead. Each step was a battle, and it took him seemingly forever to find his way to the Foxes lair.

"Fox?" The blond called, his voice sounding oddly strangled in this world of his own body. And to his concern, he received no reply.

"Fox?" he called again, even his shout sounding frail. He though he heard the deep rumble of the demons voice respond though.

"Fox! Can you hear me?"

"…Boy…" The reply was faint, as though the fox was at the other end of a long tunnel. "Something great is amiss, my ability to connect with you grows weaker and weaker."

"What?!" Naruto recoiled "How is that possible?!" Naruto's question went unanswered, just as the great demons prison faded to blackness, leaving Naruto falling into oblivion, the fall only ending when he jumped up in his bed, arms outstretched and clawing for a handhold as he gasped for air as though he had been holding his breath for too long. His wide eyes darted around the room, as if trying to reassure himself he was awake

He could see sunlight shimmering through his drapes, the time on his clock said 10:32 am, and he could hear the birds chirping from the tree outside his apartment. Someone had changed his sheets and put a new sleeping shirt on him, a pale blue t-shirt that had a line of snap-buttons down the front keeping it closed. Thankfully his boxers were the same he remembered going to sleep in. The thought of someone he didn't know seeing him naked made the blond turn bright pink in the face.

Naruto gulped as his racing heart struggled to slow itself, he ripped the shirt open and put his hands over his navel, touching the area of the seal. It was usually invisible until Naruto used chakra, so the fact he couldn't see it now wasn't anything to get worked up about. Clasping his hands together and closing his eyes he focused on channeling a small amount of chakra into them, just so he could see the seal for himself. Taking a deep breath he concentrated on focusing a little bit of power to his feet. A few seconds passed before he felt anything, and he realized that it was even harder to focus his chakra now then it had been when Orochimaru had his him with the five-pronged seal in the forest of death three years ago. That idea made Naruto's heart skip a beat, and the only method he had of calming himself was in reminding himself that he was very sick, and that would probably interfere with his chakra network for a few days.

Clasping his hands together into the hand sign of the ram, he took another deep breath a tried to focus. Gritting his teeth and furrowing his brow he tried with all his will to focus chakra into his feet, and when he felt the telltale tingling warming sensation around his toes he opened his eyes and look to his stomach. He felt his heart momentarily stop when, to his horror, no seal appeared.

"T-this isn't possible." He whispered to himself as his cold fingertips traced the area where the mark should be. He shook his head hard and made the hand sign again "I just didn't get enough chakra going!"

Before he could try again, a knock on his door startled him out of his concentration, the bedroom door opened, Shizune's smiling face appearing behind it.

"Good to see you're awake Naruto, you had us worried." She said as she walked over to his bedside, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Why?" Naruto tilted his head up to her quizzically.

"You've been out for almost five days Naruto, I-"

"FIVE DAYS!" He shouted, leaping to his feet so fast that a spell of vertigo nearly sent him toppling over, fortunately Shizune was there to catch him.

"Easy there Naruto, You're still not 100 yet. Didn't Jiraiya ever teach you patience?" She lowered the reeling blonde back down gently.

"Pervy-Sage tried…I guess it didn't take." Naruto grumbled. Shizune shook her head and chuckled.

"Well, how do you feel?"

Naruto blinked, taken off guard by the question "My stomach feels better, I still don't think I could eat much, but its not so painful to move now. And I'm still a bit woozy and I feel kinda…I don't know… Achy." Shizune nodded slowly.

"It sounds like your food poisoning is getting better Naruto, though the aches usually don't last this long. You should be able to go out a little, but you can't train for a while yet, keep it to light stretching only if you must. Push too hard and you'll make it all worse. Otherwise just take it easy here and relax, think of this as a mandatory vacation!" She smiled as Naruto groaned.

Shizune fretted over Naruto for nearly an hour before finally leaving him alone. Of course he had to swear to her up and down that he wouldn't do anything stupid or exert himself, but that didn't mean he couldn't see his friends. He'd woken up on a Thursday afternoon, if memory served then Shikamaru, Kiba, and the rest were all in town, and every Thursday Shikamaru and his team went out for grilled on Thursday nights. If it was like last week Kiba would be there too, and for a reason Naruto couldn't even begin to explain, he liked Kiba's company.

As he showered and got dressed it wasn't the wooziness that got to him, but rather the ache of his body. The pressure of water pouring over him was painful, a shirt resting on his flesh made him writhe every second he wore it. However, Naruto was nothing if not stubborn, so he simply gritted his teeth and walked out the door with his pride displayed in full. While he wasn't nearly as alert or peppy as usual, Hell would freeze over before he would be denied the power to see his friends. Besides, he didn't want to think about the Fox's warning and the difficulty he was having with chakra today, knowing his body things would fix themselves after a while, so why get too worked up…yet.

From his perch in the tree Kabuto smiled, time to move things to the next phase.


	4. Hunters Moon

Authors note: Sorry for the delay everyone, the flu on top of upcoming finals are a bitch . However classes are over in a week so expect much more frequent updates!

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**Hunters Moon**

The Red Kunai bar was well known for being the seediest bar in the village hidden in the leaves, a popular hang out for the more aggressive ANBU and Jounin who enjoyed the company of cheap women and cheaper sake while smoking cigarettes and bitching about village policy. Certain subjects, such as the Nine-Tailed Fox and its human prison, were off limits for conversation as those tended to end violently, usually for the boy in question.

Hanao, the owner, was a particularly large man. Standing nearly seven feet tall and with a body as thick as any member of the Akimichi clan he cut a powerful presence through the room, and he had to if he wanted to keep drunk and violent Jounin in line. Fortunately most everyone who came to his bar had the same opinions as he did, and more often then not fights were never necessary if someone went out of line, so Hanao was free to do two of the things he loved best, serve drinks while drinking and smoke himself senseless.

The night was still young, only 8:30 pm when an ANBU officer stormed through the doors. The man wore a bear mask with a red crescent on the forehead and purple stripes under the eyes. Definitely not a man who had been in the bar before, but still a customer was a customer. The man sat down at the bar and took of his mask, he kept his eyes hidden under his hood, all Hanao could see was the man's thick jaw and scraggly brown goatee.

"What can I get you friend?" Hanao said as he approached the man

"Sake, lots and lots of it." The man asked gruffly.

"Rough mission?" Hanao asked, a bartender had to be a good conversationalist and therapist in addition to knowing how to make drinks.

"I wish," the man growled, pulling a cigarette from one of his pockets and lighting it up with a lighter produced from another . He took a long drag, holding his breath for a moment before exhaling slowly, the slickly white smoke billowing infront of him. "More like the Nine-Tailed Fox making trouble again." A coldness filled Hanao's eyes as the stranger spoke.

"Best not to mention that thing around here friend," Hanao warned, his voice quiet and cold "Everyone in here lost family and friends to that creature, and last thing I need is the Hokage shutting me down for another riot."

Inwardly Kabuto smiled, the ANBU disguise was working perfectly, and this crowd was just perfect for his needs. Just his mentioning of the nine-tailed fox had had the whole bar hush, most of the patrons were staring at him, looking ready to attack. His task was going to be too easy…tonight would be a good night.

Shikamaru was worried. That symptom alone wasn't enough to warrant any real attention though, after all he tended to fret over lots of little things. That's what made him a good tactician. If he didn't worry over every little detail, then his plans were all the more likely to fail. It was the cause of his worry that was truly bothering him. Naruto, the loud mouthed, hyper, number-one-unpredictable-ninja was not anything like he should have been.

Naruto looked as though he had just spent hours doing nothing but high-intensity training, his face was pale, his skin glistened with sweat, and had been out of breath for the whole 30 minutes since he walked in the door. Perhaps the most discomforting thing was how the blonde had barely touched any of the food available. Even Chouji was watching Naruto worriedly, and Shikamaru couldn't hold his tongue any longer.

"Naruto, are you all right?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hm? Yea! Just fine!" Naruto replied mutedly, plastering a pathetically fake smile. "Just been a bit sick the last few days."

"Looks like you need to get back to bed." Shikamaru said in his typical monotone. Naruto's reply was a silent contemplation before the blonde smiled weakly and slowly stood up, depositing a little money on the table as he always did when the friends met at the grill for dinner.

"Yea, maybe that's a good idea." Was Naruto's weary reply. Shikamaru inwardly shuddered at his friends muted reaction.

"Want Chouji and I to help you back?" Shikamaru asked, his concerned tone easily heard.

"Nah, I'm good. I'll see you guys tomorrow maybe!" Naruto said, plastering that fake smile back on his face in a vain attempt to pacify the other two who nervously glanced at each other.

Shikamaru sighed as he saw Naruto exit the building, he hated worrying, it was a bother. By the look Chouji was giving him, Shikamaru knew that the other man was just as worried, however, Naruto was a powerful ninja and had no need for an escort home, not in this village at any rate. Still, Shikamaru's tactical instincts drove him to dig his team radio out of his pocket. Kiba hadn't joined them for dinner saying something about walking dogs or errands or some such nonsense, Shikamaru hadn't been listening to the tracker, he would bet his life's salary that Kiba had his radio on from their joint mission still.

Naruto wasn't used to the sensation of shivering, having a fire-type demon inside of him had always kept him quite warm, it was a boon during winters when the heat in his apartment conveniently 'broke' almost every winter since he'd moved in. A thin blanket was always more then enough. But now he couldn't contact the fox, couldn't feel its presence, and worst of all; he couldn't feel its warmth. It was strange, for years he had wished the fox was someone else's burden, but now that he couldn't feel it, couldn't hear it, he felt cold and empty.

His idea that getting out of his apartment would help him feel better was met with spectacular failure. The little bit of food he had eaten sat in his gut like a rock and the light exertion of walking had him totally exhausted. He'd just have to sleep this off like every other sickness or injury he'd ever had.

His apartment was in eyeshot when he noticed several drunks walking his direction, the three men looked more amicable then most drunks, and judging by their headbands they were fellow ninja. Naruto didn't see a bottle or any other sharp/pointy/blunt object(s) in their hands, but he couldn't let his guard down, experience told him these guys would let him pass without incident. He was almost always safer when groups were around as usually one or more people in said group were not going to attack. Plus ever since the Chunin exams three years ago Naruto had built up a lot of respect amongst other ninja.

Old habits died hard though.

'_Five.'_

The three drunken ninja looked the blond in the eye briefly acknowledging his prescense with an almost imperceptible nod, one even smiling slightly. A smile Naruto returned cautiously.

'_Four.'_

Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets and forced himself to look like he was at full strength, his shoulders back and his head held high.

'_Three._'

Naruto felt the three men brush past him, one man yawned.

'_Two_.'

Naruto was two steps past the group.

'_And one!_'

He unconsciously held his breath and didn't let it out until he was out of striking distance…He could still hear them walking away. He sighed shakily and hastened his pace, his nerves were shot.

He never saw the bottle coming until it shattered against his right temple.


	5. Servatis a Pereculum

Authors note: Yeeeaaaa, sorry about the delay, I had to pull a few all nighters to get my final projects done last semester (Art majors have time eating projects) and I ended up fairly sick after that. With that I must apologize for some misspellings in the last chapter(s), they have been corrected. If anyone notices any major errors in spelling please do let me know, I don't have beta readers so this stuff just goes from my laptop to here. Any constructive criticism is most welcom, and to those of you who have left reviews I love you all! 

Servatis a Periculum

Kiba was annoyed, his sister had forgotten to lock the door to the vet clinic his family operated and he had been shafted with the job of rectifying her mistake. To make the task more irritating, Shikamaru was asking him to go and make sure Naruto, one of the strongest ninja's Kiba had ever known, had made it home all right. Kiba found himself wondering why the lazy bastard didn't follow Naruto home himself if he was so worried about it…but Kiba quickly realized that Shikamaru was just that: extremely lazy.

It wasn't like Kiba didn't want to see Naruto; he was in fact quite fond of the blond moron. Naruto had Earned Kiba's respect first by defeating him in the Chunin exams, and earned his admiration by defeating Neji, Gaara, and going toe-to-toe with a power-mad Sasuke with no backup and surviving.

The burnet yawned loudly as he walked down the dirt street, his left hand in his pocket and his right hand absently scratching Akamaru's head. He looked up and sighed in exasperation, the moon was full tonight, a very red hunter's moon no less. It was beautiful in Kiba's eyes, there was already something enchanting about a full moon for him, granted that may be a clan trait, but who knows, either way, a full moon was soothing to his body and mind.

He didn't feel a particular need to race over to Naruto's apartment, especially not with such a lovely moon to look at on this cloudless night. The weather was pleasant, the breeze was light, why rush headlong to nothing. Much as he liked and respected Naruto, he felt no need to run. Then the wind shifted, and in the span of mere seconds, both Kiba and Akamaru stopped cold. The pristine air was now filled with the smell of blood, and judging by the smell it was Naruto's.

"Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba shouted, leaping seamlessly onto the ninja hound's back as the canine began his charge towards the source of the smell.

At full speed, it only took the two a few minutes for the pair to skid around the corner, both left frozen in shock at the site that unfolded in front of them, Naruto was facedown in the dirt laying in a pool of blood, his orange and black jacket missing revealing the red shirt underneath, surrounding the blonde were 13 men, most of whom looked like ninja's of some level, many holding kunai, some with broken bottles. Kiba watched in terror as one man crouched over Naruto's body, the sight of the mans large hand wrapping around Naruto's throat and his fist punching the boy in the back of the head once was enough to kick in Kiba's instincts, and before the man could connect with a second punch his wrist became a sheath for one of Kiba's kunai. He let out a yelp more in surprise then in pain, and in a split second he was off Naruto and clutching his bloody arm

"Back away, NOW!" Kiba yelled at the group, a feral snarl crossing his lips.

The crowed turned to face him, save the man he'd thrown the kunai at who was writhing around clutching his bloody arm. The impromptu leader of this pack of scum, a Jounin by the look of his equipment with a shaved head and dark glasses tightened his grip on his kunai which was dripping with Naruto's blood. The man used his free hand in a open position as tough he was trying to talk Kiba down.

"Easy boy, just move along, this doesn't concern you." The man said calmly "Leave."

"Like hell." Kiba growled almost stunned by the man's words.

He knew he couldn't take this many Chunin, Jounin, plus at least one off duty ANBU officer on by himself, and they knew it too, fortunately he had a backup plans, his right hand reaching into his equipment pouch, fingers groping around before finding the item he needed. First he threw an emergency flare kunai into the air, the tag on it exploding in a bright red fireball that would attract the attention of every on duty ninja in the village, secondly he let them watch as he pressed his fingers to his ear, activating his short-wave transmitter "Shikamaru, come in."

"Go ahead Kiba." Shikamaru was acting nonchalant, but Kiba knew him well enough to tell he was anxious.

"I need major backup outside of Naruto's apartment right now, He's under attack by a large group and looks pretty banged up. I-." A loud buzz hit Kiba's ear as Shikamaru had unceremoniously switched to the wide range broadcast signal, Kiba grinned as the Chunin's voice started again, this time over the emergency channel.

"Attention: Emergency response teams to district 63, Genin and Chunin under attack! Repeat: Emergency response teams to district 63, this is no drill!"

Kiba allowed himself a smirk as he saw the few men that were wearing radio's heard the message and had begun to back away. The man who had tried to talk him down scowling as he began backing away. They whispered warnings to the other members of the mob who quickly began to scatter.

The only man who didn't run was a man who's face was hidden under an ANBU mask, Naruto's prone body lying perpendicular to his feet. The darkness prevented Kiba from getting a good look at the mask. Kiba could feel the other man staring at him, and before Kiba could react, the man delivered a fierce kick to Naruto's chest, his boot connecting with a wet crunch as bones snapped and muscles tore. Kiba's instincts took hold, and with a lunge he managed to catch Naruto, cushioning the injured boy's landing. Akamaru was right behind him, providing cover incase of an attack, but in the instant it took Kiba to catch Naruto's body the man had already disappeared.

Little did Kiba know that the man had merely hidden in the tree overlooking Naruto's apartment. Kabuto smiled as he observed the canine-ninja, if the boy had any logic he'd let Naruto die now, save the blonde days of endless pain and suffering.

Kiba didn't dare let his guard down as he began to look Naruto over, his stomach churning at the sight. What Kiba thought was a red T-shirt had been white before the attack, stained from the bright red blood gushing from a nasty gash on Naruto's right temple along with many other cuts and stab wounds. Blood was trickling from the Naruto's mouth, it worried Kiba that one Kiba didn't have any medical supplies on him, so all he could do was put pressure on the worst looking wound with his hands.

Many people say that in an emergency they can handle keeping the pressure, but the funny thing about blood is it's consistency, even when it gushes from a wound it's a thick viscous liquid that feels somewhat like warm vegetable oil, and as it seeped between Kiba's fingers staining his hands red. He felt his heart pounding as time seemed to slow to a crawl as he tried to keep Naruto's life from pouring into the street. A weak gurgle snapped Kiba back to reality, Naruto's left eye was looking up at him, the right one swollen shut.

"H-hey there buddy." Kiba said shakily, his mind scrambling for something to say. "Try not to move much, help will be here in a minute and everything's gonna be okay!" Kiba did his best to fake a smile.

Naruto's left hand reached up, clasping the front of Kiba's shirt weakly, as though holding on to a last shred of hope. The blond tried to say something, but the attempt only yielded a quiet gurgle as more blood spilt from Naruto's lips

"Shh, I'm right here Naruto, it's okay buddy, it's okay." Kiba hoped his voice didn't sound as terrified as he was. Foolishly he took his left hand off of the stab wound in Naruto's stomach, probably a liver wound judging from the bleeding, and took Naruto's left hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly, he kept cooing 'it's okay to Naruto' his mind going in a thousand different directions as he tried to calm himself down. Akamaru whimpered softly, laying down opposite of his master, licking and nuzzling gently at Naruto's right hand.

It felt like an eternity, even though only five minutes had passed since he made the call, before Shikamaru, Choji, and several other Jounin and Chunin arrived on the scene. It only a few seconds for Akamaru to get out of the way and Kiba's hands had been relieved of duty by Shikamaru's, Choji's, and a Chunin Kiba didn't recognize, freed of its duty Kiba's right hand joined his left in holding Naruto's hand.

"This is bad," Shikamaru said, turning his head to the Jounin standing guard "Alert the medical corps!" the Jounin nodded.

"What his condition?" The black-eyed Jounin Kiba didn't recognize asked. It took Shikamaru a moment to find a suitable answer.

"Not Good." He said somberly. The Jounin nodded silently.

"We can't afford to wait for a stretcher he's gonna bleed out before then!" Kiba yelled at Shikamaru.

"And if we try to move him by hand we could only makes this worse!" Shikamaru yelled back "I already watched my Sensei die because of stupid mistakes Kiba, I'm not watching any of my friends die!"

Any words Kiba wanted to say were forgotten as Naruto let out another gurgle, his open eye rolling back in his head as his body began convulsing from shock and blood loss. Kiba and Shikamaru's spat was instantly forgotten as the two tried to hold Naruto still, Choji practically tore his jacket off, wrapping the soft fabric garment up as a makeshift pillow which he put under Naruto's head. The seizure lasted only a few moments, and by the end of it Naruto's hand had slipped from Kiba's shirt, falling to the ground with a thud. Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji exchanged a worried glance as Naruto went prone again, most of the color having faded from his flesh.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru gently tapped the blonde's cheek, trying to rouse him "C'mon Naruto, you gotta stay awake…Naruto? Naruto!" Shikamaru yelled, trying to rouse the blonde.

"Make way!" shouted the leader of the medical squad, a large white pad of gauze in his right hand which he immediately pressed tightly against the stab wound over Naruto's stomach, the three others joining him wordlessly, two pulling out bandages, the third, a ginger headed girl performing hand signs for medical ninjutsu.

"Clear!" She shouted, putting both hands over Naruto's chest milliseconds after her squad mates had removed themselves from contact. She closed her eyes and poured her Chakra into Naruto in an effort to seal the wounds and stop the bleeding, but mere moments after starting, she let out a gasp as she leapt back from the blonde's broken body, as though the very touch had burned.

"Senna what are you doing?" one of her squad mates, a man with a well-trimmed goatee and short brown hair demanded.

"His body is repelling my Chakra!" Senna shot back "It's like his whole chakra network has been fried!"

"Damn it all." the man growled placing his hands back on the gauze pads which were rapidly turning red.

"He's gonna be all right isn't he?" Kiba asked meekly.

"How should I know I'm a medic not a psychic!" snapped the man "All right, Lee, Senna, Tai a stretcher will be useless here, we use the emergency summon Justu, understood?" when each member nodded the man gave a nod "Let's move people, and you three," he said pointing at Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba "Summon Lady Tsunade."

Without waiting a second more the medical squad did a quick series of hand signs, and with their left hands placed on Naruto and their right hands on the ground they vanished in a cloud of smoke, the only trace they had been there was a patch of bloody dirt and Chouji's bloodstained coat. The three friends exchanged a worried glance as more response teams arrived on the scene, including members of the Hyuga, Aburami, and several other clans. One of the response teams already had two men in their custody, the stupid bastards having marked their clothing with Naruto's blood like some sick hunters ritual. The response teams would clean up the scene and find anyone responsible. Too bad nobody noticed Kabuto making a quiet move to a slightly less conspicuous location.

"Come on, Lady Tsunade will want to hear about this." Shikamaru said quietly, shivering uncomfortably at the thought. He noticed Kiba, who was sitting next to the bloody spot of dirt where Naruto had been laid out, staring at his hands which were coated red with Naruto's blood. "Hey Kiba, he'll be all right. Naruto can survive anything and heals faster then anyone."

Kiba looked up at Shikamaru, the worry plain on his face. "…yea…"

Shikamaru felt another shiver run down his spine, he preferred Kiba when he was overconfident and boisterous, not this shell shocked boy he saw now.


	6. Mean Seasons

Mean Seasons

Authors Note: Yeeaaa, sorry about the massive delay, I was busy being hospitalized for a few weeks. Add college on top of that and this stuff gets pushed to the absolute bottom of my to do list. Sorry ^_^;

Shikamaru yawned softly, tilting his head up to get a look at the clock. He frowned as a deep sense of déjà vu sank into the back of his mind. Just like three years earlier on the Sasuke Retrieval Mission he had failed to protect his comrades, and he once again found himself sitting in the hall just outside of the emergency room, he hadn't planned well enough, hadn't considered all the possibilities, it was his fault Naruto was hurt. Shikamaru clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails cutting into his palms slightly. He was startled out of his reverie when a strong hand clasped his left shoulder. Looking back he was surprised to see Kakashi standing over him, his eye looking suspiciously moist.

"K-Kakashi-Sensei" Shikamaru stuttered.

"What happened Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked bluntly. Shikamaru was silent for a moment, considering how to best answer the question.

"Kiba was there first, he knows more then I do." Shikamaru said softly.

"Where is Kiba?" Kakashi asked tensely.

"He went home to change his clothes and wash up…." Shikamaru paused as he felt Kakashi's fingers twitch tense ever so slightly on his shoulder "Naruto lost a lot of blood."

"I see." Kakashi said quietly, slowly removing his hand from Shikamaru's shoulder as he walked over to Shikamaru's right side, sitting a couple feet away from the younger Ninja on the bench.

"Any news?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing since they brought him in."

"I see…"

Shikamaru fingered the pack of cigarettes he kept in the breast pocket of his vest. He had kept them after defeating Hidan, since Asuma had only smoked one of the cigarettes before he died, and Shikamaru had smoked a few others since then the pack was still almost full, and now defiantly felt like a good time to start smoking again.

Shikamaru was snapped out of his reverie as the sound of footsteps approached. At the door stood Kiba, his face pale and his eyes reddish in color, Choji standing beside him. An uncomfortable silence once again descended upon the waiting room, somehow made worse by the gentle ticking of the clock. Kiba slowly walked over to Kakashi, who stood to greet the boy, found himself having to work surprisingly hard to show his emotions. Kakashi's experience was all that kept him from reeling at the stench of blood on Kiba, Naruto's blood. It was masked by soap, but not enough, Kakashi could only imagine how rough the smell was to Kiba. Whatever words he had wanted to say were forgotten as he looked Kiba in the eyes, the young Inazuka's face quickly cracking as he tried not to break down in front of the Jounin. Kakashi placed his hands on Kiba's shoulders and pulled the young man into a hug.

"It's alright Kiba, Naruto will be fine, he's survived worse" Kakashi cooed, though he wasn't sure if he was reassuring Kiba or himself.

"It's my fault," Kiba whispered hoarsely "I should've gotten their faster, I could've prevented-"

"If it's anyone's fault it's mine." Shikamaru interrupted solemnly "I could tell Naruto was sick and I told him to go home without insisting on walking him back."

"If we're gonna play that game," Choji chimed in "Then it's my fault for being such a glutton and not asking Shikamaru to leave the tab to me."

Kiba offered the small group a weak smile, his reply cut off as the emergency door opened and the 5th Hokage stepped into the lobby, looking older then usual. Her usually perfect hair was a mess, dark bags were under her eyes and she her color was paler then normal. She looked over the group in the hall for a long moment before speaking.

"We've stabilized him for now." She said quietly, a chorus of relieved sighs filling her ears. She rubbed her face with her hand as she moved to one of the empty chairs, sitting with a wearied sigh.

"How bad is it?" Kakashi asked, breaking the silence that was beginning to eat away at his nerves. Tsunade's silence didn't ease them.

"It's a good thing Naruto's so stubborn, not many people would survive the massive amount of blood loss he had, nor the blunt-force trauma." She answered, her tone cautious as she saw Kiba flinch. "His right wrist is broken as well as 3 ribs on his left side and we found a small fracture on his skull, looks like someone hit him with a bottle, the hit must've incapacitated him leaving him incapable of defending himself, which is would fit the report from the people arrested fleeing the scene who confessed to the attack. His windpipe was almost crushed as well, someone kicked him square in the throat. We'll need to check his vocal chords when he wakes up." Tsunade sighed heavily, rubbing her hand over her face.

"I'm most concerned about the damage to his Chakra network." She continued, expecting the soft gasps.

"What's wrong with his Chakra network!" Kakashi demanded, nearly leaping from his seat. Tsunade shot him an irritated glare that he ignored.

"It's…It's like someone severed the lines of communication in his body. Chakra that should be flowing naturally throughout his body is almost entirely blocked out, and what's more is that with his Chakra network offline medical ninjutsu is completely useless on him as those techniques require the medic to use the patients chakra network as paths to an injury from which the cells can then be triggered to replicate and thereby heal."

"How is that possible?" Shikamaru demanded, his mind trying to process such an unbelievable situation.

"I've never heard of that happening before." Choji added, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"That's because it's never been heard of before." Kakashi answered softly, his eye drifting around the room, taking in everyone's reactions. Kiba was particularly pale and shaky looking, his eyes pinkish from crying and cast down to the floor.

"Fortunately the traditional medical techniques are very effective in spite of their crudeness. I've ordered a full battery of tests, we'll find out what is wrong with Naruto no matter what." Tsunade said as she rose from her seat. "You all should go home, there's nothing you can do here now and Naruto won't be awake any time soon.. You can come visit first thing in the morning, he's going to need all the support we can give him." The look in her eyes quashed any question or debate the gathered ninja may have had. Each respectfully thanked the Hokage for the information before reluctantly leaving.


	7. Tears for the Fallen

**Tears for the Fallen**

Obligatory word-salad from the author: So yea, writing is hard. Particularly when every time you sit down to write you get called away to something else and by the time you have a good idea you're on the expressway during rush hour. Long and short of it is I had to sit myself down every night for the last week and just force myself to type stream-of-consciousness style (which I hate) and then turn that into something that might be considered legible and interesting, still this is probably the chapter I most unhappy with, but it gets things moving again. I should probably look into getting someone to beta this crap.

Roughly translated: The kind reviews are my motivation and inspiration to keep this up. Much love to all of you who write one. Also my writing is heavily dependent on what music I'm listening to while I write as the songs inspire my next direction. Together lets see if we can get this bastard to 50,000 words. For those of you who are interested keep an eye on my profile as I've also got a Fullmetal Alchemist story in development. The first chapter is nearing 10K words which I won't post until I've gotten well into the third or fourth chapter. Anywho, ON WITH THE STORY!

xxx

Tsunade sighed as she realized she had just drunk the last of her sake stash. Setting the ceramic bottle down on her desk the stared wearily at the medical report on her desk. She had left Naruto in Shizune's care around Five AM and retired to her office to study the test results and notes on the boy's condition. Three hours later and all she had to show for it was a headache. There was only one thing left to do in her office. At exactly 8:00 there was a gentle knock on her door, Tsunade allowed herself a bitter smile, Sakura was nothing if not punctual.

"Good morning Lady Tsunade." Sakura said cheerily as she walked in, Tsunade steeled herself as she prepared to kill that good mood.

"Sakura, please take a seat." She said, motioning to the chairs in front of her desk.

Sakura's brow furrowed slightly, she was a very intelligent young woman and she had known her mentor long enough to know what she was about to hear would be very serious. Tsunade took a moment as she chose her words.

"You recall how ill Naruto has been recently?" Sakura nodded.

"Is he doing better, did he over eat again trying to compete with Choji?" Sakura asked, rolling her eyes out of habit. "I keep telling the idiot that nobody beats Choji in an eating contest, but does the moron listen to m-" Sakura stopped with the flick of Tsunade's hand.

"Sakura, last night on his way home from dinner he was attacked." Tsunade watched the young woman carefully, her skin had grown pale and her eyes were wide and watery.

"Kiba found him and called in the emergency teams. I won't lie to you Sakura, Naruto is in bad shape. His Chakra network is unresponsive making medical Ninjutsu impossible, th-"

"May I see him?" Sakura interrupted, her voice soft and wavering. Tsunade felt her heart sink.

"Of course."

The walk to the hospital was spent in silence, the only sounds being the ambient noise of a normal village morning as well as their own footsteps. Tsunade knew how her apprentice felt, all too often during the last Great Ninja War she had seen close friends, culminating in the death of her fiancé and her beloved little brother. The anguish carefully hidden on Sakura's face was very familiar to Tsunade. Outside the main doors to the hospital were two ANBU officers standing at attention. Sakura was slightly surprised to see uniformed ANBU there, but the more she thought of Tsunade's relationship with Naruto the more it made sense. As they passed through the doors into the cool sterile smelling environment of the hospital Tsunade took the lead. Sakura knew that Naruto would be in the critical care unit, the question was simply where.

Sakura knew the building fairly well, the majority of her time training with Tsunade had been in the emergency care department, Tsunade had believed in a baptism of fire when it came to medical ninjutsu. A medical ninja had to be able to tolerate screams, tolerate blood, tolerate death, and still make logical and efficient decisions. There truly was no better place to learn, and with Tsunade always behind her Sakura rarely if ever needed to worry about messing up. As they walked deeper into the building Sakura noticed more and more ANBU the deeper they got, a few were uniformed, most were disguised as medical staff. Finally they arrived outside of a room towards the center of the hospital, ICU 7, otherwise known as the quarantine room. It was the only ICU unit Sakura had never seen before. On either side of the door stood four ANBU guards, each wearing the white coat reserved only for the ANBU elite. Tsunade paused at the doors and turned to face her pink haired apprentice, her face weary and sad.

"After you Sakura."

Sakura nodded dumbly as she took a deep breath and steeled herself for whatever she might see in there. She wasn't prepared for what she saw when she pushed through the heavy metal doors though. Naruto was in the center of the room, laying deathly still on his back on the white hospital bed. His normally tan flesh barely a shade darker then the sheets of the bed. A white headband of gauze held a massive pad of gauze to Naruto's temple, the center of the pad hued faintly of dried blood. The bandage also wrapped over Naruto's right eye. His right arm and left leg were bound in braced casts and over a dozen thick gauze pads were taped to various points on Naruto's torso. Sakura paled as she realized each bandage covered a stab wound over a kill point.

"We've been interrogating the men arrested at the scene," Tsunade said quietly as she walked over to Naruto's still body, the only sign of life being the faint fog his breath left on the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and the slow gentle beeping of the cardiac monitor. "We have the intelligence department working on them, but so far no leads on who organized the attack or what the motivations were. All we know for sure is that everyone involved in the attack was a Ninja. Though one look at the damage they caused told us that.".

"Why aren't you using medical Ninjutsu Tsunade-sensei?" Sakura cried, the tears escaping down her porcelain cheeks.

"Somehow his Chakra network has been disabled, it's almost like his body is rejecting Chakra." Was Tsunade's simple answer.

"B-but that means…" Sakura's eyes grew wider as her world felt like it was shattering all over again.

"I'll leave you two alone for a while." Tsunade said softly as she walked out of the room, the doors closing behind her with a gentle click.

Sakura gulped and timidly sat on the stool beside Naruto's bed. She observed his still form for a while before reaching out with a tentative had for his cheek. Her slender fingers paused, hovering only inches from the bruised flesh before delicately sliding over his cheek. She didn't bother trying to restrain the tears that dripped down her face as her hand tenderly cupped the cold and clammy flesh of Naruto's cheek.

"Damn you Naruto," she cried softly as her hand slid down to embrace his "What did you get into this time?" her free hand brushed a tuft of blond hair, still encrusted with dry blood from the boy's face.

"Don't you dare die on me Naruto, it was bad enough loosing Sasuke to Orochimaru…I…I can't handle loosing you too."

Outside the room Tsunade rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She could hear Sakura's soft cries through the walls. As soon as Sakura was done Tsunade would head down to the lab where Shizune was personally running the tests on Naruto's blood and tissue samples. If they could isolate exactly what was suppressing his Chakra network then they would have a chance to reverse the process and get Naruto's body to start healing. Before she could worry about that though, the biggest priority was getting Naruto a blood transfusion. He was teetering dangerously on the verge of a class IV hemorrhage, if his bleeding started again now, there wouldn't be much Tsunade could do to save the boys life. The sound of approaching footsteps broke her concentration, she smiled as she realized who approached.

"Good Morning Kakashi, Kiba, Shikamaru." She said softly.

"Lady Tsunade," Kakashi greeted in turn "How is he?"

"If he looses anymore blood he'll go back into circulatory shock. If that happens then he'll die." Tsunade noted Kiba's shudder.

"Can't you give him a transfusion?" Shikamaru asked.

"We used up the four bags we had of his blood type last night, most of that poured out of his chest as fast as we could pump it back in. Leave it to Naruto to never make things easy. There aren't many people in this village with his blood type."

"Can't we use universal blood?" Kakashi asked.

"Normally I would, but if my suspicions are correct about why Naruto's chakra network is offline then I don't want to risk his body rejecting the blood, he's too weak to handle that now."

"What's his blood type then?" Kiba spoke up, his voice eerily quiet, Tsunade only needed to look at the boy to know that he was suffering from emotional shock. She couldn't blame him really, not after how he had found Naruto.

"B" she stated, surprised at the way Kiba's eyes lit up.

"H-hang on, my blood is type B!" He exclaimed, life returning to his voice. "Lady Hokage, please take as much of mine as you need!" Tsunade stared at the young ninja, baffled for a moment by the stroke of good luck.

"Kakashi, Shikamaru," she glanced to them "I'd appreciate if you waited for us here, Sakura is in with Naruto now. Kiba, follow me please."

As Kakashi and Shikamaru watched the Hokage and the Chunin disappear quickly down the hall they glanced at each other before silently making their way to the door.

"Should I let you go in alone Kakashi-Sensei?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, I think Naruto would like a few more people around."

In a room not far down the hall from Naruto's Tsunade had Kiba sit back in an exam chair as she pulled a blood kit from one of the locked cabinets. She worked quietly, experienced hands gathering the tools she needed; an empty IV bag, needle, alcohol wash, swabs, rubber squeeze ball, and tape. She would need to grab a cookie or some juice for Kiba to eat after he was done, but that could wait a while.

"Have you ever donated blood before Kiba?" She asked as he took off his coat.

"No ma'am." He answered, a tinge of timidity at the back of his voice. She smiled warmly, as she took his arm in her gentle hands, deft fingers charting the lightly pulsing veins of his arm.

"Well it's just like getting your blood drawn in a regular check-up, except it takes longer. Usually we take about 8 to 10% of a donors blood, however with your permission I'd like to take 15% Kiba." Tsunade looked the boy in the eyes.

"Why 15 ma'am?" He asked

"Naruto lost about 38% of his blood by the time he was brought to the hospital last night, and by the time we stabilized him Kiba it was nearly 40% even with the three transfusions we gave him. Between 30 and 40% of blood loss results in Shock, crashing blood pressure, and an increased heart rate. It's what we call a class III hemorrhage. Any more then 40% is what we call a class IV hemorrhage. If Naruto gets to that stage he will go into cardiac arrest and die within minutes.

Naruto has kept himself in excellent health for most of his life and he's got a strong heart, that's why his body's lasted so long against the injuries he sustained, but as strong as he is he won't survive loosing any more blood. Simply put Kiba, your donation of and extra 7 to 8% of blood may mean the difference between Naruto's life and his death." Tsunade had to fight to keep her face impartial as she watched the tears well up in Kiba's eyes as she explained the situation to him.

"Take 25% of my blood then" Kiba said.

"Kiba if I took 25% of your blood you'd need a hospital room of your own. If you want to donate more then you can come back tomorrow morning. No sooner." Her steely gaze made Kiba sigh in defeat and nod. He shivered slightly as the smell of alcohol reached his nose and he couldn't help but stare as Tsunade soaked a gauze swab in the clear pungent fluid. The flesh of his arm tingled as Tsunade scrubbed it firmly with the wet and very cold swab. She quickly tied a surgical tube around Kiba's bicep and placed the rubber ball in his hand.

"This won't take long." She said as she reached for the needle. Later, after she had time to rest, Tsunade would donate her blood as well, after the Sake was out of her system though.

Back in Naruto's Room Sakura, Kakashi, and Shikamaru sat in companionable silence. The light beeping of the Cardiac monitor music to their wearied ears. Shikamaru had told Sakura everything that happened that night, for her part she remained silent, holding Naruto's cold hand as the tears dripped freely from her cheeks. A gentle knock on the door was all that announced the return of Tsunade and Kiba, the latter having his left arm wrapped around the Hokage's shoulders while he sipped at a bottle of juice in his right hand. In her free hand Tsunade carried two full bags of blood. Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Sakura all noticed the slightly pale color to Kiba' cheeks as well as his weariness. Sakura stood, offering Kiba the stool by the bed, which he accepted with a tired smile.

"Sakura, please put this bag into storage, we'll have need for it later today. Be sure you label it for Naruto." Tsunade said, holding out one of the bags.

"Yes Sensei." Sakura straightened up, wiping her eyes one last time before taking the still warm bag of blood from Tsunade and marching out of the room, purpose in her steps.

Tsunade set the blood on to the table by Naruto's bed, and took a deep breath before forming several hand signs that created a green hue around her hands. She pressed the palms of her hands to the bag, which took on the greenish hue, and simply held the posture for several minutes. After she finished she picked up the bag and hooked it to the IV rack, connecting the tube to the IV catheter in Naruto's arm.

"Uhm, Lady Tsunade," Shikamaru spoke tentatively "What was that?"

"It was a purification jutsu I developed during the great ninja war. A few years after the war began, we ran low on blood and plasma supplies and couldn't replenish them fast enough to help wounded ninja in the field, at least not if we took the time to properly screen every donor first. So I figured out how to ensure that all the blood was safe to transplant, regardless of the donor by triggering the white blood cells in the donor bag simultaneously while using my chakra to smother any pathogens." She explained calmly as she set the IV machine up for a transfusion. Soon the clear plastic tube was filled with red as Kiba's blood slowly flowed into Naruto's try veins. Shikamaru shook his head in astonishment.

"This takes about four hours," Tsunade stated "Any faster and we risk serious consequences for Naruto. In the meantime we have work to do. I'll be in the lab if you need me. Kakashi, I want you to go to the scene of the attack."

"Very well Lady Hokage, what will I be looking for?"

"The security teams only captured a few of Naruto's attackers, I want you to see if you can find a few more, take Shikamaru with you."

"What can I do Lady Tsunade?" Kiba asked, trying to look better then he felt.

"You can stay put and guard Naruto." Tsunade smiled as she noticed Kiba's cheeks flushing lightly.

"Y-yes ma'am."

"Let's get to work people." Tsunade said firmly, pushing the doors open and marching down the hall, Shikamaru and Kakashi nodding to Kiba as they left. Kiba waited several minutes in silence, the seconds punctuated by the slow beep of Naruto's heart, after the doors clicked shut before he turned the chair so he was facing the unconscious blonde. His skin seemingly getting slightly more color then before the transfusion began.

"Hey there buddy," Kiba said softly, his hand sliding into Naruto's with a gentle squeeze "You scared the hell out of me last night. I took four showers and I still feel like I've got your blood on my hands…" Kiba shivered, his heart skipping a beat in his chest. "I…" Kiba whimpered softly as he let his head sink onto Naruto's arm, his body quivering as he fought back the tears.

"I'm so sorry Naruto. So sorry I didn't get there sooner. I…I…" Kiba's voice cracked as he chocked out a gentle sob, face buried in the mattress as he hoped nobody heard his weakness.


	8. Investigations

Investigations.

Prerequisite word salad part 2 extreme the revenge…(Gaiden): Before we begin I'd like to just say a quick thank you to all those who've reviewed this claptrap of mine. They've been a source of inspiration and joy in my oft messy existence. By the way, just incase there's a physics nerd reading this I know that according to Einstein's theory of relativity the speed of light is the true universal constant with time speeding up and slowing down depending on the speed of the object/persons in motion, but the analogy this chapter starts with is much easier for a non-math inclined person such as myself to portray, so sorry in advance.

Reviewer Shout-Outs! [in no real order]:

AlphaMale – I'm not a medical student, though I have done volunteer work in hospitals. One of my first lessons as a writer was to always research what you're talking about otherwise the story looses credibility and your readers are taken out of the illusion. Flattered by the suggestion though. :D

Inukochan – Your reviews are so far the most inspirational to me to keep this going, I hope the future events live up to your expectations and hopefully surprise you. As a side-note; very little bothers me more then authors who bum rush to the XXX scenes, the whole "Hey, we just met an hour ago, lets go take a shower together and screw" just renders the scene pointless. Without a build up there can be no climax.

…

pun not intended. _

Ravenbolt – Sorry it takes so long, but I'm glad you like it 

And with that, back to the show!

Time is a universally constant process, it marches steadily forward second by second and minute-by-minute, nothing that has ever been nor will ever be can avoid time's effect. Human beings perceive this flow in terms of moment to moment, with time seeming to speed up or slow down based on our mood. Anger, joy, fear, depression, anxiety, weariness, exuberance, and many other factors change how the human mind perceives these moments. When happy and having fun, the mind perceives time to speed up. Yet when people are suffering mentally or physically, the perception is reversed and time seems to slow to a crawl. For Kiba, the four hours it took for Naruto's first blood transfusion to finish were the longest hours of his life, every drop that went from the machine into the IV, and every shade of color that slowly returned to Naruto's ghostly flesh took an eternity in Kiba's eyes.

Kiba was a proud ninja, and a proud male of the Inazuka line, yet as he wept silently on Naruto's shoulder while begging the blonde's forgiveness he felt like a lost child. When he was finally able to lift his head Kiba felt the telltale throb of a headache starting to build within his skull, he chanced a look up to the clock above the door and nearly gasped when it dawned on him how long he'd been weeping like a child. He ran a trembling hand over his burning eyes and sighed heavily, forcing himself to maintain even the slightest level of composure.

His eyes drifted back down to Naruto's face, the blonde's right eye was completely swollen shut, a thick gauze pad was taped to his temple, a tint of blood visible in the center of the white pad. The mere trace of blood made Kiba shudder involuntarily as his heart jumped in his chest. Memories of that horrible night leaping into his mind, everything felt as though it had only happened a moment ago. Naruto's entire torso was wrapped in a thick layer of gauze and Kiba was thankful that there wasn't any bleeding that he could see. He never wanted to see a friend in that state again.

"How the hell did I loose two hours?" he whispered to the cold walls. His hand slid down his face before he let it fall to his lap, red-tinted eyes moving to Naruto. "At least you don't look dead now, hell you're not as pale as Hinata anymore." Kiba smiled weakly, as though the dumb joke would provoke any reaction. He chewed his bottom lip as he tried to think of things to say.

Kiba's eyes drifted from Naruto's body to the blonde genin's hand. It seemed so wrong to the Inazuka to see Naruto, the leaf village's most unpredictable ninja, laying in a hospital bed still as death. If one didn't look carefully it was easy to miss the slight rise and fall of Naruto's chest. The slow rhythm of the cardiac monitor and the light fog that washed over the inside of the oxygen mask that was pressed over Naruto's mouth and nose was the only obvious evidence the blonde wasn't dead.

Reaching carefully down, as though Kiba pressed the back of his fingers to the side of Naruto's hand, recoiling slightly at the distinct lack of warmth he found. He didn't know why he was surprised by it, Naruto's body was in a crisis management state, reducing blood flow to his extremities in order to maximize the change of survival. It was a mechanism evolved into humans by millions of years of trials and tribulations. The brain was an innately greedy organ would gladly sacrifice arms, legs, and everything in between to keep itself alive. Still, Kiba couldn't resist taking Naruto's cold hands between his warm ones, and gently rubbing them like his mother had done for him when he was little and played outside too long.

"Wake up Naruto, I'm no good as cheering people up."

Far from the sterile environment of the hospital Shikamaru and Kakashi were standing over the bloodstained patch of dirt where Naruto had fallen the night before. The two had spent all morning pouring over the scene looking for any clues the other ANBU had missed.

"It's too clean." Shikamaru growled angrily as the two stared at the bloodstain.

"Hm?" Kakashi looked over to the Chunin, the words having snapped him from his thoughts.

"The scene, the weapons, everything!" Shikamaru growled "This attack was called a random assault, but we've scoured the whole district and we've found so little that this looks like a paid hit done by professionals!"

"Yea. There are almost no footprints, the only weapons dropped were the ones stained in Naruto's blood, and at least four of Naruto's attackers tried to eliminate their scent." Kakashi mused.

"What do you mean 'at least'?" Shikamaru asked the older man.

"I mean that four of the people who attempted to mask their scents didn't do it properly which left a feint trail for someone with a good nose to pick up on. If someone does it right then the only way to find them would be to use a Dojutsu like Sharingan or Byakugan."

"You have the Sharingan Kakashi, can't you follow a chakra trail then?" Shikamaru asked.

"I could if I had been here just after the attack, but chakra trails a faint and dissipate quickly. While my Sharingan could have followed any trails had I been here when it happened that opportunity is lost to us."

"I see." Shikamaru ran his right hand through his hair once.

"Had Naruto mentioned anything to you or Sakura about feeling threatened to you in the last few weeks?" Shikamaru asked, Kakashi simply stared pointedly at him.

"Right...stupid question." Shikamaru mumbled as Kakashi began to walk. "Where are you going Kakashi-Sensei?" Shikamaru asked.

"Naruto's apartment, I've got a hunch." Kakashi said as he walked to the nearby apartment complex. Shikamaru simply sighed as he ran to catch up.

"What a pain." He grumbled.

Naruto's apartment complex was infamous around the village for being the 'lair' of the fox, a title which the building manager had worked hard to sweep under the rug. It was a popular joke among the top Jounin that the Third Hokage had an hour a week scheduled just to listen to the man's pleading to expel Naruto from his home. Kakashi had no doubts that Tsunade had just terrified the man into never bothering her with the issue again. As Kakashi approached the door labeled 'manager' he tried to think of why he had never visited Naruto before. The answer, in all simplicity, was Sasuke. Kakashi had devoted all his time to the Uchiha boy, had spent all his time trying to give Sasuke something to live for besides revenge. In the process he naively told himself that Sakura and Naruto wouldn't mind. He brushed the thoughts from his mind as he knocked on the door, Shikamaru standing by his side.

"What are we stopping here for, I know Naruto's room number." Shikamaru said, his voice bored.

"That may be, but we need a key." Kakashi answered plainly. Shikamaru chuckled softly, amused by the irony of two Ninja actually bothering to take the front door rather then break it down or steal through a window. His attention was soon claimed when the door creaked open, a thin cloud of tobacco wafting out. It made Shikamaru gag worse then Asuma's ever did. Behind the door, a tall man in his fifties, with a bald head and a salt and pepper beard looked down at them. He was a heavyset man who reminded Shikamaru of Ibiki, the thought of which sent shivers down his spine.

"Good morning Mr. Oji." Kakashi said cheerily.

"Likewise sir Ninja, I don't suppose you're here to evict that monster are you?" Oji growled, a black cigarette held between his teeth.

"What monster?" Shikamaru asked pointedly, the question earning him a look of surprise that quickly changed to disgust in Oji's black eyes.

"That fox-faced monster that the third Hokage stuffed into one of _MY _apartments. The little worthless creature that nearly ruined my business! Do you have any idea how hard it is to rent out rooms here when everyone knows just what lives upstairs?!" Oji's voice grew louder as he ranted at Shikamaru, who nearly attacked the man outright, it was only Kakashi's firm grip on his shoulder that kept him in place.

"We just need the key to his room Mr. Oji." Kakashi said, the casual tone of his voice rapidly fading.

"What for? Just go knock on the door, it's room 27. I'm sure the little prick will open it soon enough for you ninja folks."

"Naruto was assaulted last night Mr. Oji, I'm afraid he'll be in the hospital for a few days. Now the keys if you please." Kakashi asked again, his tone cold. His normal eye narrowed as Oji's bald head titled back, a coarse laugh filling the doorway. He disappeared into the office for a moment before emerging with a key marked '27'

"Tell the little monster that he's late on his rent and he still owes me money for that door. I expect it paid in full with interest even if it's the last thing he does!" he took a deep puff of his cigarette as he handed Kakashi the key.

"You son of a-" Before Shikamaru could say another word Kakashi yanked him down the hall. Only once they were out of earshot did Kakashi's grip loosen enough for Shikamaru to jerk his shoulder free. He fought to keep the tears from his eyes as his body quivered with rage.

"Why?" Shikamaru demanded "Why the Hell did you just let him say those things and get away with it!"

"Because I wanted to see if he knew anything." Kakashi explained calmly as he resumed walking towards the nearby staircase. "Oji may be a piece of scum, but he is also a coward. He wasn't involved with the attack on Naruto."

"It's still not right Kakashi-Sensei." Shikamaru said bitterly "Naruto's got a heart of gold, he doesn't deserve to be slandered like that."

"I know Shikamaru." The tone of Kakashi's quiet answer sent a shiver through Shikamaru, there was a coldness to it, a silent rage kept closely in check by two decades of battlefield experience. Shikamaru lowered his head slightly as he processed the tone. It was just like the tone Asuma used to take when a member of team 10 was in danger, that protective bond of master and student that was woven into the very fabric of the hidden-leaf philosophy. The rest of the short walk to room 27 was spent in contemplative silence.

"My God." Shikamaru whispered as he noticed the graffiti on the door. Written in what look like blood were the words 'Monster', 'murderer', 'demon', 'faggot', 'burn in hell', even Kakashi looked taken aback by what had been written on the door.

'_How long has this been happening?_' Kakashi wondered as he stared at the red letters, years of martial arts discipline keeping his anger in check as he stuck the key into the lock and pushed the creaky door open. Taking a step inside he looked down to the floor as he heard the crunch of papers. Three letters had been pushed under the door and now resided under the heel of Kakashi's sandal.

"What are we looking for?" Shikamaru asked.

"Anything that seems out of place, any threats, anything that indicates Naruto was being spied on or followed. If we're right, and this was a hit-job, then whoever planned it must have spent time here, learning Naruto's patterns and habits." Kakashi pocketed the key as he bent down to pick up the letters. More unopened letters were on Naruto's small dining table. When Tsunade and Shizune were taking care of Naruto they must have just placed it there thinking the boy would look through it when he was feeling better.

Kakashi examined the envelopes in his hand, his brow furrowing as he noticed only one of them was labeled, that one being the rent notice from Oji. Kakashi hoped Naruto would understand and forgive him later for what he was about to do. Kakashi unsealed both of the unlabeled letters and pulled the papers from them, tossing the torn envelopes onto the table. His heart skipped a beat as he read the notes. Both letters were death threats, one going so far as to hope Naruto got brutally raped and tortured before his death. Kakashi dropped the two letters onto the table and quickly began tearing open the other envelopes. Out of twenty-seven letters, twenty-five were death threats or hate mail, the other two being notices from Oji, the first was a fine for noise violation and the other being a bill for graffiti removal.

Kakashi hadn't lived in a low-rent apartment for many years, but he knew quite well that the rates were cheap enough for any Genin to afford. In all of his life he'd never once seen or heard of an apartment manager charging a tenet for vandalism or noise violations. Kakashi took a deep calming breath as he stuffed the letters into his pocket, he would confiscate Oji's records later, though he didn't need them to know that Naruto's home was so poorly furnished because of how badly the blonde was being financially abused. Tsunade would need to know, Kakashi just hoped she would leave something left of Oji for his Sharingan after she was done with him.

Shikamaru felt strange walking around Naruto's bedroom, not because of something that Naruto owned, but rather all that the blonde didn't own. There were a few scrolls on the Ninja arts of Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu, a few potted plants, and a few changes of clothes. The only other material possessions Naruto had were his standard issue field equipment, his headband, and a small journal that was half hidden under the worn out pillow on the bed. If Shikamaru was being honest with himself though, he would have admitted that looking through Naruto's kitchen had been a more unsettling experience. The cabinets in the kitchen had contained a single old dish rag, two plates, two bowls, a coffee cup, a water glass, and two knives, forks, and spoons. All Naruto had to cook with was a small frying pan and a small pot. That, combined with the lack of any food more substantial then ramen and an empty milk bottle.

Shikamaru contemplated the small book for a moment, the cover was creased and crumpled, the paper was old and worn, and the edges were all worn down. Tentatively Shikamaru opened the book and skimmed through the pages. The first entry was dated tens years earlier, the very last entry from yesterday morning. Shikamaru didn't dare read the passages, he couldn't violate Naruto's privacy like that. He would let Kakashi or Tsunade read it, at least Naruto would be more accepting of it then. Shikamaru exited the bedroom to see Kakashi reading Naruto's mail, the older man looking as mad as the raven-haired boy could ever recall seeing.

"Kakashi? Are you all right?" he asked softly, worried by how long it took for the Jounin to reply.

"Yea, I'm great." Kakashi growled, crushing a letter in his hand. "Shikamaru, did Naruto ever talk to you or anyone else about getting death threats in the mail?"

The question made Shikamaru's eyes widen. "What?" Kakashi motioned to the scattered letters on the table.

"They're all death threats and hate." Kakashi glanced down at them, each letter making his blood boil.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as a very particular moment flashed through his mind. Three years earlier, when he had been assigned to command the Sasuke Retrieval Mission, Tsunade had told him to take Naruto with him. At first Shikamaru had been shocked by the Hokage's recommendation, Naruto was a loud-mouthed, obnoxious, and all around average genin by all accounts; but the more the Chunin had thought about it the more he had come to understand the logic of such a choice. For all his faults Naruto had an unprecedented inner strength and sense of conviction that made him able to withstand things that would break lesser men.

Shikamaru specifically recalled how that fateful morning as he pounded on Naruto's door, he had some smudges of green paint on the edge of his palm. When Naruto did open the door, it had at first been very tentative, the door only cracking far enough so that Naruto could get a good look at who was calling on him. Only after his brain registered it as Shikamaru did the door fly open and the loud-mouth blonde come out. Shikamaru had attributed it to the expected sleepiness of anyone who'd just been rudely woken up at the crack of dawn, but now he had a different explanation: Naruto didn't crack the door and pause because he was half-asleep, he had done it because he was afraid of being attacked!

"Why? What the hell did Naruto do to deserve getting death threats?" Shikamaru asked, his heart aching for his friend. Kakashi watched the brilliant Chunin sadly, he wasn't surprised that Naruto still kept the Fox a secret, the blonde was probably terrified of what would happen to those few precious friendships if he did tell them about it. The only reason he had told Sakura was because she didn't understand why Naruto had wanted to assist Gaara so badly when he was captured.

"What did you find?" Kakashi asked, changing the subject.

"I found Naruto's journal," Shikamaru held the black book out to Kakashi "I figure it would be better to let you or Lady Tsunade read it." Kakashi nodded as he took the book and stuck it into his vest pocket, the two silently resuming their hunt.

Tsunade sighed heavily as she rolled her shoulders wearily. She had already been running on minimal sleep when Naruto had gotten ill, and since the attack she hadn't slept at all. It was starting to take effect on her mind; the words on the reports were starting to blend together. If she were 30 years younger she would have just taken a food pill, but decades of experience had shown her the long-term side effects from Shinobi who had overused the seemingly innocuous pills: Nothing that worked that well didn't have an equally powerful side effect. She suppressed a growl of irritation as a light knock on the door triggered a light headache.

"What?" She hissed, her composure relaxing as Shizune's demure form entered the room.

"I have the results from Naruto's blood work Lady Tsunade." She said, smiling slightly as she pulled a small bottle of sake from her coat pocket "And a little liquid motivation."

Tsunade laughed softly and smiled to her assistant, for as prudish as Shizune tended to be about Tsunade's gambling, drinking, and general work habits she did know when to make exceptions. It was why they worked so well together; Tsunade brought Shizune out of her shell and gave her confidence, and Shizune kept Tsunade from straying too far off the road.

"The initial results were normal, as anticipated the only anomaly was a high white blood cell count. But when we looked deeper we began to find traces of an unknown substance."

"What kind of substance" Tsunade asked as she folded her hand in front of her chin.

"We're still working on identifying it, all I can say for sure is that it looks like a new type of poison, but there's something really off about it." Shizune's brow furrowed slightly.

"Like what?"

"If I were just judging by looks, I'd say it was a heavy metal's based toxin, like the sort that The Sand Shinobi are fond of, but it's behaving like a Mist Village neurotoxin with the way it's attacked Naruto's chakra network which I've never seen any poison do. What's more boggling is how it's also displaying cytotoxic qualities, like an Aburami venom. I've never even heard of anything like this." Shizune sighed "It's totally unprecedented."

Tsunade took a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling slowly, she couldn't think when she was so aggravated. It wasn't supposed to be possible for one poison to be capable of more then one of the things in Shizune's report. Tsunade sighed heavily as she stood up.

"Shizune, tell Sakura to keep an eye on Naruto for a while, it should be about time for the next transfusion, have it set it up. I need to rest for a few hours, you should probably get some sleep too Shizune." Tsunade said as she walked towards her first apprentice. Shizune bowed her head slightly, Tsunade knew better then anyone that an exhausted doctor was capable of making mistakes, and on a patient as critical as Naruto even the smallest mistake could result in the genin's death.

"I'll take care of it ma'am."

"Oh, one more thing," Tsunade paused and turned to face her assistant "Has Ibiki filed his report yet on the assailants apprehended at the scene?"

"Not yet ma'am, last I checked he was still working on them."

"…Very well." Tsunade turned back and walked through the door. "What about you two?" She glanced up at Shikamaru and Kakashi who were both reclining against the wall or the hallway. Kakashi tossed a small book to the Hokage, who caught it easily.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Naruto's journal, Shikamaru found it and thought it might have some information."

"We haven't read it yet.," Shikamaru added "Kakashi and I thought it would be best if only you read it, doctor's confidentiality and all that."

She nodded slowly, contemplating the innocuous book for a moment before she returned her gaze to the two Shinobi. "Anything else?" She felt a deep sense of unease building in her stomach as Shikamaru and Kakashi exchanged a weary glance.

"Lady Tsunade," Kakashi started, his voice slow and cautious "We found dozens of death threats in blank envelopes Naruto had been getting for some time apparently. We also found fresh graffiti on his door, probably put there just before or just after the attack." Kakashi reached into his pocket and pulled out several of the letters offering them up to Tsunade who quickly snatched them from his hand and began reading through them. Shikamaru, Kakashi, and even Shizune found themselves inching away from Tsunade as she read through each and every letter. The wooden floor and plaster walls around her started to tremble and crack as her chakra and fury bore down on the room. She only read five of the letters before she handed them back to Kakashi and took a deep breath.

"Give them to the investigative department, We will discuss the rest of your report later." Without another word Tsunade brushed past the two men and turned down the hall in the direction of the Hokage's office apartment. Only when she was out of sight did everyone breath again.


	9. Twilight and Sunrise

Twilight and Sunrise

Authors note: I'm kinda proud of this chapter, which is very odd considering I couldn't think of a single way to start it for the longest time. I get to share with all of you some of the medical trivia I've picked up over the years, and hopefully create a realistic and engaging chapter for everyone to read. The purpose of this chapter is mostly to get things moving again since the last few chapters have been nearly in slow motion, the next chapter will start to speed things up a bit, and hopefully everyone will enjoy it and provide me with some helpful feedback. I'm trying to make these chapters longer, but I always feel like I'm getting too wordy for my own good. According to Microsoft Word, this chapter is exactly 10 pages long, and I think I've beaten this horse as long as I could.

As a side note I've been watching the English dub of Shippuden the last few days, and I have to say I'm very impressed at how well it's done. I know there's a lot of people out there who steadfastly refuse to watch dubbed anime, but I highly recommend those people give it a shot. Personally I hate having to read anime. Anyway, on with the show!

P.S.: edited to fix my retarded typos, thanks InuKochan!

Kabuto hummed softly to himself as he flipped through the pages of the Hidden Leaf News Paper from his corner table in the diner. He was in a good mood today, the thrill of a plan coming together always put him in a good mood. He could still smell the bloodlust from the previous night's attack. He could still hear Naruto's choked sobs of agony as the twelve men that had followed him from the Red Kunai stabbed, punched, and kicked the blonde again and again; all were ninja and all knew where to stab someone to inflict the most pain possible. Kabuto had personally crushed Naruto's throat with his bare hands after the screams got to be too loud. He regretted that decision to a degree though; while it made sure nobody would come running to investigate the noise it also prevented Naruto from being able to beg for his life or for the pain to stop. On the other hand, the face Naruto made as his voice box collapsed was worth the loss. He couldn't wait to execute the next part of his plan.

"May I take your order sir?" a young woman asked him with a smile

"I'd like a hot cup of tea and some Onigiri please." Kabuto replied in a gentle tone. The young waitress bowed politely and retreated to the kitchen to place the order.

It was amazing to Kabuto how easy disguising himself was. All he did was let his hair down, erase his scent, and put on the outfit of a simple farmer, straw umbrella hat and all. He even skipped shaving and used his chakra to enhance the growth of his facial hair to give him a small beard. After almost four years nobody in the village seemed to recognize him, and with his scent eliminated even Kakashi wouldn't find him unless they just happened to run into each other on the street.

Returning his attention to the paper he flipped through another page before he found the article he was looking for: Naruto's attack was being reported by the writer of the article as a group of brave citizens valiantly defending themselves from the crazed host of the Nine-Tailed Fox that had attacked them unprovoked. Kabuto allowed himself a broad smile, he knew that most of the Jounin and Chunin respected Naruto, or at the very least the annoying blonde had earned their polite indifference. The only Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf that reliably hated Naruto was the ANBU corps. Many of the ANBU had been their when the original attack happened, and none of them were about to honor the Fourth Hokage's dying wish and treat Naruto like a hero. As far as most ANBU officers were concerned the boy deserved to die.

Outside of the military the citizenry also detested the boy far more then Kabuto expected. In their minds the Fourth Hokage, the most beloved hero of the Hidden Leaf Village, had died a meaningless death. Naruto was the demon fox in a human's skin. As far as they were concerned, the lanky blonde boy had personally killed all those who died that night. The writer of the article was a name Kabuto recognized, Kyuzo, a man his father had been good friends with and was a frequent dinner guest at the Yakushi household. Kabuto knew that Kyuzo's younger brother had been one of the first Shinobi to die that night, and when one of the fox's tails crushed their home, Kyuzo lost his left leg, his wife lost her life.

Kabuto glanced up from the paper again as the waitress delivered his tea.

"Here you are sir."

"Thank you miss."

"Is there anything else I can get you well your meal is prepared?" she offered. Kabuto gave her the smallest of genuine smiles.

"No thank you." He said kindly, the young woman bowed again and left to tend to her other tables. He lifted the heavy ceramic cup to his lips and sipped the steaming hot tea, letting the aroma fill his senses as he savored the taste. Turning his attention back to the paper he read Kyuzo's article, smiling again as the man laid his anger bare on the page.

'_Last night at approximately 7:45 pm an emergency call was issued reporting a Genin and Chunin being assaulted in district 63. Emergency teams were dispatched and several arrests were made. This paper has learned that the Genin attacked was in truth the Nine-Tailed Fox. After contacting several of the men arrested at the scene they allege that they attacked in self-defense when the beast attacked them for merely looking upon it._

_We contacted the office of the Hokage as well as the hospital for more information this morning, so far neither the 5__th__ Hokage nor her staff have commented on the issue, though our source from the Hidden Leaf Hospital who wishes to remain anonymous confirms that the beast is still alive and is being held in quarantine until further notice. The source also told this reporter that the Fox has been given several bags of blood. Our source confirmed the Fox demanded either the blood or a live sacrifice.'_

Kabuto had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from laughing out loud. Kyuzo was always a bit extreme in his opinions, but he usually kept up the pretense of a balanced argument in his reporting. When it came to Naruto, balance was out the window, most of the civilians feared and hated the boy and if Kyuzo wanted to tell them that Naruto stole babies from their cribs and ate them in Orochimaru's abandoned tunnels people would believe it; or at the very least they wouldn't be very skeptical about it.

Kabuto set the paper down and leaned back in his seat, taking another sip of tea, shifting his gaze to the window, the sun was slowly dipping below the great wall that wrapped protectively around the Hidden Leaf Village. The sun itself cast a bloody hue of red over the sky that faded into orange, then a light purple until it melded into the blue of the coming night. Opposing the fading sun was the rising moon, cold and gray in the evening sky. Kabuto allowed himself a genuine moment of ease, Orochimaru had ordered him to make Naruto suffer as long as possible, Kabuto knew that if Naruto were to die so soon after receiving the white scorpion and the ambush Orochimaru would be very disappointed in him. Kabuto took another sip of his tea as the sun finally disappeared below great wall, he had planted the seeds of hatred, all he needed to do now, was give them time to grow.

Kabuto's attention was drawn away from the beautiful sunrise when a man with shaggy brown hair and a deep scar down his face sat across from him. Kabuto recognized him instantly as one of the men from the Red Kunai.

"Kyuzo wrote a nice article didn't he?" the man said with a smile.

"He did, friend of yours?" Kabuto casually asked.

"Yea, he was pissed we didn't bring him along for the fun."

"That's understandable" Kabuto replied, taking a sip from his tea. "Did you find out what I asked you to?"

"Yea, the monster's in the secure isolation room, our bitch Hokage's got over 20 ANBU in there guarding him. Most of the ANBU are on our side, but the white coats are totally loyal to Tsunade. She's got them standing guard outside the ICU while the rest of the ANBU are guarding further down the hall and out by the doors. Until Tsunade changes the guard rotation my boys won't be able to get within fifty feet of the demon's door." He scowled.

"Hmm, that's not likely to happen, but I have another plan." Kabuto said, smiling softly.

"Yea?"

"Yea, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow though, it will require some patience and set up. For now though tell Kyuzo to keep writing these kinds of articles, we'll get the whole village into the next attack."

"Sure thing boss."

Across town at the Hidden Leaf hospital, in the windowless quarantine room where Naruto lay motionless, on the right side of the mattress Kiba leaned somewhat sheepishly on the side of the mattress. He had remained there all day, guarding his friend diligently. His hand drifted from his lap, to Naruto's hand, and occasionally to Naruto's forehead. Kiba sighed heavily to himself as he slumped in his chair.

'_Why is this getting to me so badly?'_ he wondered.

"How's he doing?" Sakura's voice cut into his thoughts, making the Chunin jump slightly. He blushed slightly at how caught off guard he was.

"He's running a fever I think and his breathing is really shallow and labored." Kiba answered. Sakura nodded as she walked over to the bed, placing one hand on Naruto's forehead while the other slide over his right wrist, briefly feeling for a pulse before she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She bit her tongue to keep her emotions in check as her hand slowly left Naruto' clammy head. She couldn't help but think of how unfair it all was; it was just over a week ago Naruto's right arm had been in a cast after the battle with Kakuzu and Hidan. Naruto's Rasenshuriken had won the day, but had nearly cost Naruto his arm. Sakura had noticed how depressed Naruto had looked with his arm wrapped in a thick cast, how he softly berated himself for being useless when he though nobody was listening.

"His fever is high, but that's normal for someone who suffered so much trauma, if he's as lucky as he usually is then the fever should start to go down in a day or two." She took the medical chart hanging from the bed and began making notes. She glanced at one of the monitors over the bed and frowned. "His blood pressure is a bit low, we'll have to keep an eye on it." She marked the numbers down on the pad before continuing with a simple check of Naruto's bandages.

"Why's his breathing sound so bad though?" Kiba asked, hoping he sounded more like a casually concerned friend then a panicking mother hen.

"Well, remember the kick you mentioned, where the masked man kicked him to you?" Sakura asked, keeping her voice low, she waited for Kiba to nod. "That created burst fractures of three of Naruto's ribs, and created a flail chest which completely collapsed the lung on that side of Naruto's chest, Tsunade repaired it as best she could, but Naruto's going to have trouble breathing for a while. And when he wakes up…" she paused, brushing her fingers over the tube protruding from the thick wrappings over the left side of Naruto's chest.

"What about when he wakes up?" Kiba asked, his voice wavering nervously. Sakura took a deep breath before she turned to face him, her eyes filled with grief.

"It's gonna be a rough healing process." She answered cryptically. Kiba's shoulders slumped as his gaze returned to the floor. Sakura didn't have the heart to tell Kiba the full extent of the problem. If Sakura were being honest with herself, then she would have to admit that she wished Tsunade had not told her about it. Flail chest injuries were extremely difficult to heal, even with the advent of medical ninjutsu. Without it Naruto would be bedridden for weeks, possibly longer, forced to stay as still as possible in order to let his ribs fuse back together. The pain would be excruciating with every breath he took.

Sakura prayed Naruto would be unconscious for most of it. As hard as it was to see her friend and team mate in this state, he couldn't feel pain if he was in a coma and as long as Sakura and Tsunade were here they would see to it that his body healed as much as possible before he awakened. Shaking those thoughts from her head Sakura resumed making notes.

"Kiba, have you been in here all day?" she asked after several minutes of silence.

"Uhh, y-yea I guess."

"Go home."

"What?" Kiba looked up to her incredulously.

"Go home Kiba." She repeated in a firm but gentle tone "I'm glad you were keeping an eye on Naruto while I was in the lab, but you can't do anything to help him if he had a seizure or began to hemorrhage internally. You can come back in the morning if you really want to." She offered with a weary smile.

Kiba wanted to argue with her, he wanted to stay and protect his fallen comrade, he wanted to be there if Naruto woke up, but one look into Sakura's eyes was enough to tell him that she would make him leave if she had to. With a reluctant sigh Kiba rose from his seat, the muscles in his legs and lower back stiff from hours of near motionless waiting. He turned his gaze to Naruto one last time, a somber look passing over his face that caught Sakura's attention, though she didn't say anything.

Pulling his gaze away Kiba began taking heavy footsteps towards the hallway, he looked to the green doors of the ICU, and with a deep breath he pushed through them. As he heard the doors click closed behind him he forced himself to walk faster, ignoring the gaze of the ANBU guards he passed in the hall. As he approached the exit doors of the Hidden Leaf Hospital he felt like his feet were getting heavier, and when he pushed through the heavy doors and in to the cold autumn night, he looked to the sky, the stars were hidden behind heavy clouds and a strong wind chilled him to the bone. The last vestiges of the sun's light were fading quickly, streetlights flickered on to illuminate the dusty streets of the Village.

Kiba walked home as fast as he could, the powerful autumn wind was hitting him head on, as though tying to push him back into the hospital. With each step he took closer to home and further from Naruto, the more he felt like he was doing the wrong thing. It wasn't quite as though he felt like he was abandoning Naruto in his friend's greatest hour of need, but something more that he simply couldn't put his finger on. Every step further he got from Naruto the stronger the feeling got, and the stronger the feeling became the more like Kiba felt he had a deep pit in his gut. It was like a heavy sense of emptiness residing deep within the very core of his being. Kiba couldn't help but notice the massive boost in security forces patrolling the streets since the attack, and he couldn't resist feeling a small ember of fury well up in his gut at the whole thing. Had there been security out the other night Naruto blood wouldn't be painting the road and the blonde wouldn't be comatose in the hospital.

'_I wonder if Shikamaru and Choji got in contact with anyone else yet, they all deserve to know what happened. Team Guy should be back from their mission tomorrow, I wonder if anyone has told Hinata…she's going to be devastated when she hears about this, she's always had a crush on Naruto._' Kiba shivered as he thought of the unassuming girl. He sincerely hoped she found out from Shino, Neji, or Sakura he really didn't want to break this news to her. '_Kakashi or Tsunade will probably break the news to Iruka sensei, he's the closest thing Naruto has to a father figure._' Kiba sighed heavily.

After a walk that seemed to take an eternity, Kiba finally found himself at the entrance to his families home. Judging from the lights that were one, Kiba assumed either his mother or sister was home from their missions. He wrapped his hand around the cold metal of the doorknob and paused for a moment, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. Finally he managed to push the door open and step into the warm home. Almost instantly all the dogs were around him, and soon his sister joined them. Kiba managed a half-hearted smile as Akamaru's snout met his hand.

"Hey there boy, sorry I took so long." Kiba said quietly as he scratched Akamaru's muzzle. His smile faded as Hana entered the room. Akamaru silently slipped behind Kiba.

"Kiba, where the hell have you been?" she demanded "Akamaru's been curled up in your room almost all day and the bathroom smells like blood, what the hell happened?"

"I was at the hospital." He answered quietly, too tired for his usual bravado. Hana's eyes went wide and in an instant so was in front of her brother.

"What happened? Are you all right?" she demanded.

"Yea…I wasn't the one who was attacked." He answered, his eyes cast down at the floor. He felt a knot starting to build in his throat again and fought to suppress it

"Who got attacked Kiba?" Hana demanded, putting her hands on Kiba's shoulders and giving him a mild shake to get his attention "What happened?"

"…It was Naruto."

"What about Naruto?" she narrowed her eyes, she was old enough to remember the nine-tailed fox, and while she also knew that Naruto was not the fox but rather it's unfortunate jailer, years of rumors and hate-speech made her always worry that the boy might hurt someone.

"THEY TRIED TO KILL HIM!" Kiba shouted, tears that he had been trying to fight back began to spill down his cheeks. Hana recoiled slightly as though physically stricken by his outburst.

"What do you mean Naruto?" She asked.

"H-he was attacked last night and nearly bled to death in front of me." Kiba whimpered

"How Kiba?" she asked, her tone softening. Seeing her baby brother in such an utterly exasperated state made her blood run cold, but she had to know what was hurting him before she could help him.

"Shikamaru r-radioed me to check on him just a-after I locked the clinic." Kiba choked back a sob as he sank to his knees, the memory hitting him with all the weight of a mountain. Akamaru whimpered softly, resting his head on Kiba's shoulder. "I found Naruto on the ground being…" he took a shaky breath, raking his hands through his wild brown hair in frustration. "They were gonna kill him, they were kicking him and stabbing him and choking him and…and I…." Kiba wailed in agony before sinking further towards the floor, his left hand punching the thick wooden boards.

Hana stared at her brother in shock from two things in particular, the first being the sight of her baby brother sobbing on the floor from the memory that was haunting his very soul, and the other being the idea of Naruto Uzumaki, one of the kindest and most good-hearted Shinobi she'd ever met being nearly murdered in the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village. It was unthinkable on several levels, no murder had taken place in the Hidden Leaf Village since Orochimaru went rogue, even assault was almost unheard of. The idea of an attempted murder on Naruto, a licensed Genin of the Lead was even more audacious. How brutal the scene must have been coupled with how much bloodlust was in the air to affect Kiba this badly had Hana shaken. She knelt down beside Kiba and pulled him in to a tender hug.

"Shh, it's gonna be all right now Kiba." She cooed to him like she had seen their mother do when either of them had bad nightmares as children. "It's gonna be all right."

"There was so much blood I-I couldn't stop the bleeding." He said through his sobs "I can't get the smell of it off my hands!"

Hana couldn't help but wince as Kiba fell to pieces in her arms. The smell of blood coming from Kiba was faint to Hana, but her nose wasn't nearly as sensitive as Kiba's was. His sense of smell was the greatest in the Inuzuka clan, she could only imagine how bad it must be to him, especially with the horror it recalled.

"Come on Kiba," she said softly as she gingerly helped him to his feet "Lets get you to bed."

Slinging Kiba's right arm over her shoulders while wrapping her left arm around his back, Hana walked him upstairs to his room. Helping him down to the bed she took a few steps to the door before Kiba's words stopped her.

"I'm scared Hana." He said, his voice almost too soft to hear.

"Hm?" she turned to face him.

"Naruto's done so much to help me over the years, and everyone else he meets. He's persevered through so much, and helped me and everyone else, even when we pushed him away and mocked him…and now…" he paused, his voice cracking again "And now I'm scared that he could die and I'll never be able to thank him for all of it!"

Hana frowned sadly and walked back to her brother, leaning down and giving him a tender hug.

"Naruto always believed in everyone, no matter who they were. He supported them with everything he had no matter how much it hurt him to do it. It'll just have to be your turn to believe in him and support him now." She offered Kiba a small smile "If all of Naruto's friends care for him as much as you do, then he'll be back on his feet in no time." Kiba nodded as she spoke.

"Thanks Hana."

With the assistance of a few shots of Saké Kiba managed to fall into a blissful, dreamless sleep. For Tsunade the night would pass slowly, nightmares of her little brother and her beloved's dead face's passing through her mind. They were reaching out for her, calling for her to save them, and every time she failed. When she finally woke up the sky was dimly lit, the sun almost ready to appear over the horizon. Her hands fumbled over her nightstand for a moment before finding a small pack of matches, she quickly ignited one, the warm glow washing over the nightstand. She sighed and lit the lantern on the nightstand; the wax fumes nurturing the flame to a healthier size. Tsunade sat up on the edge of the bed and for a while, just stared at the floor lost in thought.

After a while she noticed Naruto's worn journal sitting innocently on her nightstand. Tsunade stared at it for a moment before picking it up and opening to the first page. She felt a brief moment of trepidation for violating Naruto's privacy, but the hope that she might find some clues on how to best help the boy overshadowed them. The very first entry nearly made Tsunade's heart stop.

_October 14_

_It was my birthday a few days ago, I know it was my birthday cause the villagers came by to give me my present. Ever since I was old enough to live on my own I've gotten it. This year was the worst on yet, they always break my legs so I can't run, this year a lot of my ribs broke too, at least I think they were with how hard it was to breath for the last few days. Like every year they only stopped when the ANBU man in charge of following me got bored, he dragged me home by my hair this year, last year he dislocated my arm and the year before that had a rope leash around my neck. The last thing I remember was him kicking my door down and slamming my head into the wall. _

_When I woke up I saw a red stain on the wall, I think it's my blood, but I don't remember for sure, all I remember is a bright light and then I woke up the next morning. Mr. Oji's gonna skin me alive if he see's it. I think someone pee'd on me this year, my clothes were wet and smelly. I couldn't move until earlier today, I wonder if Iruka sensei will yell at me for missing so much class again. He'll probably hit me too, he hasn't yet but that's probably just cause the whole class is there. Why does everyone hate me so much? _

_October 16_

_I tried to go to the general store today. The third Hokage usually brings me a bag of groceries when he checks on me every Friday, but he told me I'm old enough to start going on my own now. Two stores wouldn't let me in at all and the last one the man who owned it charged me twenty ryo for the egg someone threw at me. I'm lucky that he didn't beat me too badly, at least he let me in the store. All I can afford is a few packs of this Ramen stuff. Hopefully it won't be too bad._

_November 21_

_I was walking home from class this afternoon and saw this little kid accidentally drop his ball while his parents were buying some sweet rolls. I picked it up and tried to give it back to him and got called a monster, I tried to run but they caught me and beat me really bad. I had to drag myself back home and spent most of the day on the floor. Mr. Oji says I got my blood on the hallway floor and if I can't pay my rent plus the fine I'll be out on the street. Sometimes I wish I didn't heal so fast._

Tsunade's mouth felt dry as she read through the next several entries, all the same as the first two. Naruto's entries were sporadic at best, Tsunade was able to guess that the early entries were written when Naruto was about ten with about fifteen to twenty entries per year. Every entry up to the day Naruto became a Genin was painfully similar, Naruto would be harassed, beaten, insulted, and shunned. As he got older he began referring to the abuse and neglect as part of his training. As Naruto got older and learned the basics of being a Genin, the villagers apparently began to ignore him during the day. During the last semester of the Academy classes Naruto wrote an entry that made Tsunade feel physically ill.

_October 15_

_I got my birthday present again, this year after my usual beating they tore my clothes off and tied me face down on the bed after dislocating my arms. They whipped me real bad for a while before they got bored, after that a man in bird mask threw me into a wall back first, I blacked out from how bad that hurt. I woke up yesterday morning, I knew it was Thursday cause Mr. Oji leaves the rent notices on Thursday's, looks like I owe 178 ryo to repair the wall and replace the mattress in addition to the rent…I don't know how I'll need to skip food for a couple weeks to pay that. It took me a while to get my arms working again, I'm glad a few people still care enough to give me my birthday present, since last year's almost nobody even looks at me anymore and that is more painful then getting whipped. Maybe if I work really hard I get people to notice me again._

Tsunade skimmed through over a dozen entries that simply recalled missions, his dissatisfaction with D ranked missions, his self-loathing with his fear of the hidden mist Shinobi on his first A ranked mission, nothing helpful. The next passage that caught her attention was the one he wrote while hospitalized after the failed Sasuke Retrieval mission.

_Sasuke's gone. He's abandoned us to join up with Orochimaru. Grandma Tsunade had Shikamaru lead Neji, Choji, Kiba, and me on a mission to bring him back, I swore to Sakura I would bring him back…and I failed. I was too weak to keep my promise. I failed them all. Sakura's will never forgive me for this, she'll probably never want to see me again, same with Kakashi. He carried me back to the village, but I bet he hates me now too. Sasuke was always his favorite anyway. I think even Tsunade's mad at me, I'm in a back room in an empty wing of the hospital, I haven't seen a nurse since they brought me here yesterday. I pushed the call button once and was told not to do it again by the lady on the other end. I tried to cut my wrists open hoping that I could bleed to death, but the fox healed me too fast._

_Kiba, Neji, and Choji nearly died because I wasn't strong enough, I haven't seen Shikamaru since we split up back in the forest. I didn't hear anything so I guess he made it out all right._

_All my life all I wanted was to have people who cared about me and needed me, I thought I finally had that last week, but now I…I'm still as worthless as I always was. Why couldn't the fox just let me die?_

Tsunade paused to wipe her eyes, silently cursing her own foolishness. She'd always taken Naruto to be a carefree impulsive brat with an annoyingly prominent streak of optimism. Now she realized that all the bravado, all the stupidity, all the happiness, all the passion for life, all of it was just a front. Naruto had created a perfect disguise, hiding his anguish in plain sight just under the surface. For his entire life the closest thing he got to love was the third Hokage's kindness, but her old Sensei had in truth failed the boy miserably. Tsunade put the book on her nightstand; she simply couldn't bear to read more. After she had a shower and some breakfast, Tsunade would call Kakashi and have him open a full investigation into Naruto's landlord.


	10. Secret Birthday

Secret Birthdays

I appologize for the delay in getting this chapter up but school's been very busy and about 800 words in is the point where I ran headlong into the lovely wall of writers block. Fast forward a month or two and about 20 pots of tea later and I finally managed to crank this out. The next chapter should be out faster as this was the last piece I needed to get to the next part I had in mind. Hopefully you all enjoy this.

The golden rays of the autumn morning filtered through the blinds on Kiba's window, their warm glow settling over his face as he slowly stirred from his alcohol assisted slumber. He reluctantly opened his eyes to face the new day, blinking a couple of times to clear his blurred vision before sitting up slowly. He yawned loudly, arms stretching out to either side, his back making a satisfying pop. Kiba frowned as he noticed he hadn't changed out of his clothes last night, though when he recalled the shots of Sake that Hana had given him he wasn't surprised. In the end all it meant was that he had a little more laundry to do later. Glancing down to the floor next to his bed, Kiba allowed himself a small smile as Akamaru's curled form entered his vision. Almost unconsciously his hand reached down to the large dog's head, fingers tracing delicately over the soft fur.

Kiba remained still for several minutes as he considered his options for the day. He wanted to visit Naruto again, with Kurenai on maternity leave for the foreseeable future squad 8 was essentially on reserve status. Whenever another squad was short handed or additional forces were needed for a given mission Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were usually called to fulfill those special roles; and while their squad specialized in tracking, they also excelled at surprise attacks. Kiba frowned sadly as he thought of his squad, Shino and Hinata often were called to assist other squads, Shino because the sheer range and adaptability of his bugs and Hinata because of her Byakugan. Kiba often found himself left behind more and more frequently, to the point where he felt impotent compared to the others.

Lifting his gaze to the ceiling, Kiba let out a sigh, he had a deep unease sitting in the pit of his stomach like a rock. It was like an unshakable feeling that things were only going to get worse, and it chilled him to the bone. Trying to shake his head clear of thoughts he climbed out of bed and stretched out one more time before undressing and tossing his clothes into a pile in the corner. Akamaru gave him a chiding bark which Kiba ignored with a soft laugh. Akamaru had seen Kiba naked before, and Kiba couldn't feel shame about it after the two had learned the man-beast transformation jutsu.

"Oh shut up lazy bones, not like you haven't seen it before. You just wish you looked this good all the time." Kiba smiled back at the dog who gave him a humored snort. Kiba reached for the towel he had hanging over his desk chair and after wrapping it around his hips, he proceeded to the shower.

An hour later, after an unusually long shower and a quick breakfast Kiba's walk to the hospital when a voice called out his name, he froze in mid step as the realization hit him; the tone was too happy, too at ease, too normal. Kiba stifled a whimper as he turned to face his grim duty. Hinata, Neji, and Rock Lee were approaching him quickly, Kiba forced himself to smile weakly.

"Hey guys, when did you get back?" he asked.

"Just a few minutes ago," Hinata answered "I ran into Lee and Neji at the main gate and since we all needed to report to Tsunade." She was smiling happily, as was Lee, Kiba felt his heart sink further, it would be his duty to give them the news, to shatter their day.

"Did…" Kiba paused, holding out one last piece of hope "Did any of you hear the news…about Naruto?" Kiba knew the answer the moment he saw the two Hyuga's and Lee exchanged a perplexed look.

"What about Naruto?" Lee asked. With all his heart Kiba wanted to tell them to forget he said anything and just walk away, but now that he had put the question out he couldn't just leave it. He took a moment to consider how to phrase the answer before deciding it was just best to say it.

"He got very sick a week or so ago, and the other night he was attacked and nearly killed b-"

"WHAT?" Lee shouted, physically recoiling from the revelation. Hinata cupped her hands over her mouth to stifle her gasp as Neji's jaw hung slack, his own eyes wide with shock. Kiba sighed heavily and motioned for them to follow him.

"I'll tell you on the way to the hospital."

The four ran briskly through the dusty streets of the Leaf Village, Kiba filling them in on all the grizzly details from the other night. Hinata had almost passed out when she heard about the number and extent of Naruto's injuries while Lee and Neji each had murderous looks spreading over their features. Skidding to a stop outside of the hospital doors the four quickly made their way to the reception desk where a woman in her early thirties with waves black hair sat. She smiled warmly to the young Shinobi.

"Good morning, how may I help you."

"Is Lady Tsunade here?" Kiba asked.

"Let me check, just one moment please." She said as she stood up and walked to another nurse in the office behind her.

"Why are you asking for Lady Tsunade?" Hinata asked, her voice sounding more fragile than usual. "We should be going to Naruto!"

"I just want to make sure it's all right for so many of us to be in there at once." Kiba said with a slightly exasperated tone. Hinata recoiled slightly from his response, which made Kiba qualify himself. "I also wanted to ask her if I could donate more blood."

Neji placed a reassuring hand on his young cousin's shoulder as they waited for the receptionist to return. Lee chewed anxiously on his thumbnail for a moment, dozens of questions running through his mind, though the return of the receptionist kept him quiet for the moment.

"I'm sorry sir, but Lady Tsunade hasn't arrived here yet, is there any way I can help you?"

"No, we're just going to visit a friend." Kiba answered.

"All right then, may I just have this friend's name as well as all of your names so I may check you in?" She asked through a smile.

"Kiba Inuzuka, Rock Lee, and Hinata and Neji Hyuga to see Naruto Uzumaki." Kiba answered. The moment Naruto's name left his lips he sensed a drastic change in the woman. Gone was the welcoming smile and warm glow, replaced by a barely hidden frown of disdain and a cold air.

"Oh, that. You know where it is." She stated curtly.

Kiba simply gave the woman a respectful bow as he led the others towards the quarantine room. They walked in silence until entering the relative privacy of an empty hall.

"Did anyone else notice that?" Lee asked, his voice low.

"Yes, as soon as Naruto's name was mentioned her entire attitude shifted." Neji stated, his brow furrowing in thought as he tried to think of the possible reasons for such a drastic change.

"S-she didn't even say Naruto's name." Hinata added.

"She referred to Naruto like some sort of beast." Kiba growled his fists clenched tightly. He made a mental note to ask Tsunade or Sakura when he saw them, they knew the hospital staff better than anyone perhaps they knew why the woman had reacted the way she did.

Without further incident they approached the quarantine wing, all the checkpoints allowed them to pass without a word, and in short order they were at the final door. Kiba placed his hand on the latch and turned one last time to his friends, specifically looking at Hinata.

"Brace yourselves." He said quietly as he pushed the door open leading the three in. Almost immediately came the expected gasp of horror from Hinata, both of her hands covered her mouth as tears began to spill down her cheeks. Lee and Neji each shad looks of horror on their faces as they took in the sight of Naruto, the hyperactive, unpredictable, lovable knucklehead now intubated and almost unnaturally still on the bed before them. Dozens of tubes connected his body to the machines that monitored every vital function and kept the boy alive. The slow rhythm of the ventilator coupled with the steady beep of the cardiac monitor created a morose duet to the four visitors. Kiba made a mental note that someone had set up another blood transfusion; he resisted the urge to shiver as he considered the possibilities of why Naruto would need another one. He could not help feeling a small sense of relief as Neji's voice distracted him from his fears.

"How could this happen?" Neji asked, his voice soft and his tone seething with anger "Naruto is one of the strongest Shinobi I've ever seen, none of this makes sense!"

"I agree," added Lee, his bandaged fists quivering subtly. "Naruto is one of the best fighters in the village, even if a whole army attacked him he could create a shadow clone for man and then some."

"Normally that would probably work, but I don't think he could this time." Kiba stated earning him baffled looks from his friends. As he opened his mouth to answer another voice cut him off.

"Perhaps I could answer the question better." Kiba sighed in relief as his brain linked the voice to Lady Tsunade, who now stood at the door with Shizune close behind her. "Naruto was poisoned approximately eight to ten days ago," she started, her voice measured and calm. "Whatever type of poison it was it's completely shut down his Chakra network, we can't even get medical Chakra into him now."

"How was he poisoned then?" Neji spoke up "Naruto hasn't been on a mission in quite a while."

"Poisons can only be induced in a few ways; Inhalation, Ingestion, or Laceration, and some poisons only work in specific modes of induction." Tsunade explained as she walked past the four teens to the chart at Naruto's bedside. "Based on the his symptoms I'm convinced this poison was planted into something Naruto ate or drank. I'm glad you all are here, I needed to speak with you two anyway." She stated as her gaze shifted from Kiba to Neji and back again. Both boy's stiffened slightly at the stare.

"Kiba, I need you to come with me and identify some suspects that ANBU captured last night, we need to get a positive ID from you on the ones that were involved with the attack." Tsunade said.

"Yes Ma'am." Kiba answered immediately, he kept his face neutral, though inside he was thrilled at the prospect of seeing the animal's that hurt Naruto brought to justice.

"Neji, I know that you don't have medical training, but your Byakugan is the strongest in the entire village. I'd like you to use it now on Naruto and get a good look at just what is going on in his body. Can you do that for me?" Tsunade asked. Neji nodded and took a deep breath before activating his Kekkei Genkai, the lavender eyes looking into Naruto's very core, almost immediately he recoiled violently.

"What in the hell?!" He growled as his eyes narrowed.

"What did you see?" Tsunade asked after placing a reassuring hand on the young Jonin's shoulder.

"I…It…Naruto's chakra network it's still functioning, but it's like there's a foreign chakra that's flowing through it, something so potent it's suppressing Naruto's natural chakra." As Neji tried to explain what he saw Tsunade walked to the side of the bed, setting Naruto's chart as well as a file folder onto the foot of the bed as she formed the medical hand signs.

"Neji, I want you to describe to me exactly what happens when I try to heal him, Hinata, you look as well, the more eyes the better for this."

"Yes my lady." The meek kunoichi said as the formed the seals and activated her Byakugan. Hinata's eyes were excellent among the Hyuga clan, in truth only Neji's eyes were better. However where Neji had a wealth of confidence Hinata always was forced to struggle with her innately timid personality, it damaged her power as a Shinobi as well as the level of technique's she could use practically in a battle situation. Naruto had been the first one to believe in her, he had given her the confidence to face Neji in single combat and, although only for a moment, she had stood toe to toe with her elder cousin. If it was within her power now, she resolved to use all that confidence to try and help Naruto. A simple nod from Hinata was all Tsunade needed before she pressed her hands to Naruto's chest attempting to pour the healing chakra into the unconscious blonde's devastated body.

Neji focused his vision on the chakra points where Tsunade was focusing the medical jutsu. To Neji's eyes chakra was faintly visible, only Sharingan users to see chakra clearly. Normal chakra was a pale blue color, though healing chakra's took a green hue, the only exception Neji had ever seen was in his fight with Naruto three years earlier, Neji still wondered where Naruto had pulled the strange red chakra from. The chakra inside Naruto's body looked slightly purple now, what's more there was nearly no flow of the chakra around Naruto's body. Neji watched in horrified amazement as the green medical chakra was repelled by the purple chakra.

'_It's almost like a...Wait that's it!'_ Neji thought as he had an epiphany.

"Lady Tsunade, I believe that some form of barrier ninjutsu has been cast on Naruto." he blurted out suddenly, the proclamation earning him a perplexed look from the Hokage.

"Explain." the woman stated as she stopped the flow of healing chakra from her hands.

"When I first looked it seemed like Naruto's chakra was suppressed because I couldn't see any chakra flow, but when you began the medical jutsu the chakra that I assumed was suppressing his network acted more like a barrier, that must be what has been repelling your chakra." as Neji finished his explanation Tsunade brought a hand up to rub her chin, her brow furrowed deeply in concern.

'_Of course, this all makes sense now._' She thought '_It's impossible for a normal poison to behave the way this one has, the only possible explanation is a poison enhanced with a powerful juts..._'

"Damn it" she growled, the act making everyone in the room flinch nervously.

"There has to be something you can do," Kiba started "I mean if-"

"It's not that simple Kiba!" Tsunade snapped a bit more aggressively then she meant to. "This isn't like a genjutsu where a simple chakra disruption will break the spell." Kiba felt his heart sink as she spoke. "Shizune."

"Yes my lady?" The raven haired woman answered.

"I want you to draw five vials of blood from Naruto, get Sakura and anyone else you think could be useful. Figure out how the jutsu is bound to the poison and see if you determine if it's truly a barrier jutsu or something else. After that see if you can figure out a way to break it. If you need to then you can draw more samples from Naruto, keep it to no more than five per day however. Understood?"

"Right away Lady Tsunade." the demure woman replied, turning on her heel and disappearing down the hall immediately.

"Maybe with time we can find a way to break the jutsu, but until then medical ninjutsu is worthless. The best thing the rest of you can do is be here to support him, Naruto doesn't have a family and he's going to need all the support he can get." As Tsunade spoke she retrieved the manila folder from the foot of Naruto's bed and pulled a small card in an orange envelope from it which she set on Naruto's night stand.

"What is that for?" Lee asked, a bandaged finger pointing to the innocuous folder. Tsunade smiled sadly.

"Today is Naruto's birthday." she answered softly.

"What?!" Kiba burst out, far louder then he intended, though Lee, Neji, and Hinata all shared his surprise. Tsunade's expression gradually turned from somber to perplexed.

"None of you knew?"

"He's never told anyone when his birthday is." Kiba answered, the others nodding slightly. Tsunade sighed heavily as she looked down at Naruto.

'_I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, not after reading his journal. Naruto probably feared what might happen if his friends found out he's our Jinchuriki._' Tsunade paused as she considered how to proceed.

"Well, just so all of you know Naruto is sixteen today." she said simply. Before anyone could say anything, Sakura burst into the room, out of breath and holding a crumpled news paper in her right hand.

"Lady Tsunade, there's a big problem!" she blurted out.

"Kiba and Neji, I would like you two to wait outside, Hinata and Lee, you two are free to go if you wish." All four could tell from Tsunade's tone that there was no room for discussion in the matter. Only after the door clicked shut behind them did Sakura toss the paper to Tsunade.

"By now almost everyone in the village has probably seen it" The young medic stated grimly. As Tsunade read the article she had to force herself not to put a hole in the wall. Naruto hadn't been named specifically in the article, but every single Chunin and Jonin old enough to remember the original attack 16 years ago would know exactly who the writer was talking about. No matter how much Naruto tried over the years, there would always be people in the village who would never see Naruto as anything other than a blood thirsty monster. That minority, no matter how small, would act as a destabilizing element in an already volatile situation. Once again Tsunade forced herself to take a deep breath.

"Who else knows that Naruto is a Jinchuriki?" Tsunade asked her apprentice.

"As far as I know, nobody else in our class is aware. Though I assume Sai is aware of it since he worked for Danzou." Tsunade nodded thoughtfully.

"What do you think we should do about this Sakura?" Tsunade asked, her amber eyes looking deeply into Sakura's green orbs.

"Arrest this Kyuzo creep, shut the paper down, and destroy all the copies we can." Sakura answered curtly earning a laugh from Tsunade.

"Your thinking too aggressively Sakura. We can't shut the paper down, if we do the malcontents and conspiracy theorists like Kyuzo will perceive that the article was truthful and we're covering it up. Likewise if I have Kyuzo arrested, even though he's technically in violation of a law established by the Third Hokage he will use the arrest as a stage to turn himself into a martyr." Tsunade rubbed her chin in thought.

"All right Sakura, have Ibiki take Kyuzo into temporary custody. Tell him to remind Kyuzo of the laws of the hidden leaf village. Tell Ibiki he can take his time to remind Kyuzo of his obligations as a citizen of this village, but the man must be released anytime within the next twelve hours."

"Why Ibiki?" Sakura asked, eyes wide in astonishment, Ibiki's reputation alone was enough to terrify almost anyone in any village "Isn't he a bit extreme for this? Why not send Kakashi-sensei?"

"I have Kakashi attending to another matter right now." Tsunade answered cryptically. "Sakura, from now on I want someone here with Naruto at all times, if it can't be you, Shizune, or I then Kiba, Kakashi, Shikamaru, anyone you can trust."

"Wha? Y-Yes my lady." Sakura answered, her confusion plastered on her face. "Why though? His condition has been stable and seems to be improving steadily enough."

"That's not what I'm concerned about. Kyuzo wouldn't have published this article if he didn't think he had at least a decently sized group of people who would support him, and Kiba's testimony said that at least one of the men who attacked Naruto was ANBU black op's. We need to be more cautious than ever."

"I understand." Sakura said softly, her eyes drifting to her fallen comrade.

"All right then, please send the others in on your way out."

Sakura gave her mistress a curt nod as she turned and made for the exit. Kiba, Neji, Hinata, and Lee had been waiting patiently outside the heavy doors. After a brief exchange of dialogue Kiba and Neji walked in.

"Thank you all for waiting," Tsunade began "Kiba, I want you to follow me to the interrogation department, I need you to identify any of Naruto's attackers so we can begin questioning them. As for the rest of you I have a new mission for you all, volunteer only."

"Accepted!" they all blurted in unison. Tsunade couldn't resist a small smile at their eagerness.

"Very well, the three of you are to remain here and protect Naruto until Kiba and I return. Under no circumstance is he to be left alone, understood?" Tsunade folded her arms across her chest, it relieved her to see all three nodding in acknowledgement.

"I'll explain more when I return. Kiba, let's go."

"Yes Ma'am." the brunette replied as he followed her out.

The three remaining shinobi stood in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. The solemn metronome of the cardiac monitor filling the void between them. It was Lee who broke the silence first.

"I can't believe this happened to Naruto, or that none of us even knew his birthday was today." he said.

"It's not fair," Hinata whispered, her voice cracking softly as tears threatened to overwhelm her. "Naruto doesn't deserve this. He...he..." her words were lost as she choked back a gentle sob.

"Lady Hinata, could I ask a favor of you?" Neji spoke up, his tone especially gentle. As soon as Hinata was able to return his gaze he resumed speaking "Ever since the Sasuke Retrieval Mission Naruto has always made an effort on my birthday and that of everyone else he knows to give us something for a birthday present." before Neji could continue Lee's eyes lit up as he interjected.

"You are right, he always pay's for our plate at dinner and has some small gift after words!"

"Yes Lee, but none of us have ever given him anything in return." Neji stated, the simple fact making Lee cringe.

"I would have, but he never once told us when his birthday was, and only Shikamaru knows where Naruto lives..." Lee trailed off again.

"Would you be willing to go get a card or small gift I could give to Naruto when he wakes up Lady Hinata?" Neji asked with an almost timid tone, he knew that if Naruto was awake the hyperactive blonde would laugh himself half-to-death over the blush Neji was trying to fight off. "I would go myself but I'm afraid I'd have no idea where to start or what to look for."

Hinata eyed her cousin in astonishment, the older boy had always been cold and aloof, especially before his battle with Naruto during the Chunin Exams. After that however he had changed, slowly at first, but as she looked back on it she couldn't help but smile. Naruto truly did have a gift for changing people, he had even done it to her.

"All right cousin."

"I will go with you." Lee stated plainly "I must repay Naruto's kindness Tenfold." the raven haired boy proclaimed loudly, much to Neji's chagrin.

Across town in an alley less then a block from Naruto's apartment complex, Kakashi met one last time with the teams Tsunade had given him for this latest mission. Shikamaru, Izumo, and Kotetsu were all waiting for him when he arrived, late as usual.

"What happened this time?" Shikamaru asked shooting Kakashi an irritated glare.

"It took a while to get a pair of these." Kakashi answered as he held out two wooden crutches.

"What do we need crutches for?" Izumo asked.

"Yea, isn't the mission search and seizure?" Kotetsu added.

"Well I'm not Yamato, so I can't just grow them, now allow me to explain the details of this mission." Kakashi started, leaning the crutches against the wall, his impromptu squad stepping closer to him. "Evidence Shikamaru and I found in our initial investigation has lead the 5th Hokage to believe that Naruto was the victim of usury and abuse by his landlord Oji. Our mission is to get into Oji's office and search his books for evidence."

"But why the crutches?" Shikamaru asked even though he already had a good idea what the answer would be.

"I'm going to gain access to the office by transforming into Naruto." Kakashi's answer earned stunned gazes from all three Chunin. Kakashi took the opportunity to reach into his tool pouch producing three headset radio's and a portable recorder. "I'm already wearing a wire and I synced it to these radio's and the recorder before I came here." Kakashi held out the three headsets in his right hand, each of which were quickly taken by one of the Chunin.

"So, what's the plan?" Izumo asked as he put the headset on.

"Izumo, I want you to hang back and run the recorder. Shikamaru and Kotetsu will take up camouflaged positions outside the target's door and be prepared to breach on my signal, at that point Shikamaru will pin the target with his Shadow Possession Jutsu and after that Izumo, Kotetsu and I will begin gathering evidence. Any questions?"

When no questions were asked Kakashi nodded his head. He handed Izumo the recorder and took a deep breath clasping his hands together in the necessary seals. With a pop and a burst of smoke Kakashi was replaced by a nearly impeccable copy of Naruto, complete with a leg cast, and a black left eye. Shikamaru flinched at the sight, even though he knew it was Kakashi in disguise. The faux Naruto settled the crutches into his armpits before looking up to the team.

"All right," he said, with Naruto's tenor voice "Get to your positions."

In an instant all three were out of sight leaving Kakashi alone in the alley. He waited another moment before beginning the slow hobble out of the alley towards Oji's office. He was fairly confident in his disguise ability, even though Kakashi had limited experience with crutches he was good enough with them to know how to handle a broken looking leg.

As the faux Naruto got into plain sight Kakashi couldn't help but feel odd about the whole situation. It was one thing to impersonate an enemy ninja or any number of inanimate objects, it was quite another to be taking the form of one of his own students. To add to the trouble Kakashi and Naruto were at the opposite ends of the spectrum personality wise. Kakashi was straightforward, serious, and calm whereas Naruto was impulsive, loud, and unpredictable. The only thing in Kakashi's favor was the fact that he had made Oji aware Naruto was injured badly enough to have been temporarily hospitalized, anyone admitted to the hospital for physical injury generally received pain killers which could slow down anyone.

As Kakashi reached the middle of the road something caught his attention, while this was not a particularly busy area of the village there were some people in the streets, some were ignoring him, but most were staring at him. Had it been normal stares Kakashi would not have noticed, after all he had made himself look the part, it wasn't something seen outside of a hospital. These stares were stares of outright contempt and disdain directed at the image of Naruto Kakashi had wrapped himself in. Kakashi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up the longer he was exposed, the sensation was becoming very unsettling. As he neared Oji's office a small rock hit him in the right temple forcing Kakashi to balance heavily on his crutches as he hissed in pain, his right hand instinctively shooting up to cover the stinging flesh. There was no blood, but he had a feeling it would bruise soon enough. Kakashi looked around to see who through the rock, yet nobody stood out. Fortunately Izumo's voice came over his radio.

"I've got him Kakashi, it was the older man in the red shirt 20 meters on your right. What's your call?"

"Leave him alone, we'll blow our cover if we take him down." Kakashi mumbled just loud enough to transmit clearly.

"Copy that, out." Izumo said.

'_How long has this been going on?_' Kakashi wondered as he approached the door. '_Minato-sensei, forgive me for failing to protect your son._' Pushing the thoughts from his mind Kakashi took a final deep breath and knocked on Oji's door. For a few moments there was nothing, and Kakashi caught himself wondering if the target was out, at least until he heard the click of the door unlocking. It took Oji a moment to recognize who the battered blonde at his door was and Kakashi had to resist flinching as the man's soft expression rapidly turned aggressive.

"Get your worthless ass inside." he growled as he turned his back to the faux Naruto and stormed to his desk. Kakashi nodded and quietly followed the man. "And shut that damn door you mangy cur!" Oji snapped as he sat in his plush leather recliner. Kakashi didn't respond as he complied with the request. It took all of his effort to hide his growing anger before the trap would be sprung.

"Now then," Oji started as he opened his ledger. "Your rent was due over a week ago, that was 1500 Ryo, you have yet to clean up the mess on the door, that's another 800 Ryo, with the late charges that's 8000 Ryo. You'd better have every last cent with you boy." Oji hissed dangerously. Kakashi's eyes were wide as Oji finished, 8000 Ryo was more than most Chunin made in a moth, even though Naruto was nearly a Kage level Shinobi he was still technically a Genin and therefore only received a Genin's pay, to get 8000 Ryo a Genin would have to save for nearly three months without spending a cent of it on anything. Kakashi wasn't surprised when he heard Shikamaru, Izumo, and Kotetsu gasping over the radio, even the base price was absurd, especially if one considered the economy size of the apartment Naruto was leasing. Even for Kakashi it took a few moments for him to regain his composure.

"B-but I don't have that kind of money Mr. Oji, I haven't been able to get a mission in-" Kakashi was cut off as Oji threw a stapler at him, nearly hitting the faux Naruto between the eyes. Kakashi was able to dodge it, but only by collapsing to the floor in keeping with his impaired disguise. He made a show of grabbing his 'broken' leg and gasping in agony. By the time he looked up Oji was standing over him, a borderline murderous glare in his eyes. Oji violently kicked the 'broken' leg which earned a very loud, and somewhat genuine scream of pain form Kakashi.

"Then you get the hell out of my building and don't come back until you can pay your rent!" Oji shouted as he kicked again. Kakashi saw the kick winding up and decided it was time to spring the trap, just as Oji's kick came forward 'Naruto' disappeared in an explosion of smoke, replaced by Kakashi, who easily caught the kick in his hand. As the smoke cleared and Oji's eyes adjusted to the new figure on his floor the blood drained from his face.

"Kakashi to all units, move in" the silver haired Jonin ordered calmly, the rage barely hidden in his voice. Immediately the door flew off it's hinges as Kotetsu kicked it in, Shikamaru's shadow flying forward to paralyze the already stunned landlord.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu complete" Shikamaru stated with a smirk. Kakashi let go of Oji's foot and slowly rose to his feet.

"Gozumaru Oji, by the office of the Fifth Hokage you are under arrest, charged with usury, and assault of a hidden leaf Shinobi." Kakashi nodded to Kotestsu who promptly began searching Oji's many ledger's and invoices, Izumo joined him as soon as he entered the office. Oji snarled at Kakashi as well as the three Chunin before closing his eyes and seemingly giving up. Kakashi personally took the ledger Oji had been looking in mere moments earlier.

"Izumo, I'll take that recorder back now." Kakashi said, holding out his free hand.

"Yes sir." the man replied, handing the small rectangular device back to the Jonin. "I got the whole thing on tape."

"Good." Kakashi replied as he tucked it safely in his pocket. "You two gather evidence here, take everything you find back to Tsunade's office. Shikamaru, you and I are going to escort our friend here to the holding cell's, Tsunade will be waiting for us there.

The lazy Nara smirked as he noticed Oji trembling at the Hokage's name. Tsunade's temper was famous in the Hidden Leaf Village, her fondness for Naruto Uzumaki hadn't gone unnoticed either. Kakashi led the way out of the office, Shikamaru and Oji following right beside him. As they walked Kakashi read the ledger, the particular book seemed exclusively devoted to Naruto.

"Well well Mr. Oji," Kakashi glanced sideways at the man "When Shikamaru and I spoke with you the other day you were complaining about how hard business was, but if I'm reading your ledger right Naruto was paying for at least three apartments a month, not including these fine's that I'm seeing listed almost every week. Now how bad can your business be doing if you were making that much from him?"

"Oh please spare me your righteous indignation," Oji hissed towards Kakashi "You know what that monster is, what he did to this village! Lousy cur should've been killed years ago! When wrinkly old bastard put him in here three tenants moved out the next morning. The brat was the reason they left so it was only fair to have him pick up the tab!"

Shikamaru glared daggers at the man, he briefly flirted with the idea of using the Shadow Strangle Jutsu, though as he thought of what Tsunade might do to Oji he took a grim satisfaction in knowing the man would regret ever looking at Naruto wrong.

"How many times has Naruto's door been vandalized?" Shikamaru asked. Oji simply gave the Chunin a noncommittal shrug.

"Probably once or twice a week on average. " he answered.

"And how much were you fining Naruto for it?" Shikamaru demanded.

"Don't give me that tone boy!" Oji snapped "It's in the cur's contract that he's responsible for any damages to that apartment, it was well within my rights to make him pay to get the door fixed and repainted."

"Considering a gallon of paint and a brush costs less than 20 Ryo and you have the fine at 200 Ryo, I'd say you were significantly over stepping your rights Mr. Oji." Kakashi said as he gave the man a sideways glare.

"How many times have you struck Naruto over the years?" Kakashi asked. Oji remained silent, to neither man's surprise. "Either you tell me or you tell Ibiki, or possibly Inoichi Yamanaka digs it out of you." Kakashi added letting the threat hang in the air. Oji stiffened visibly, his face paling slightly at the options, after a moment he regained his composure and grunted, choosing to remain silent.

The rest of the walk was spend in silence, as they neared the holding cells Kakashi took a moment to tie Oji's hands behind his back, giving Shikamaru a chance to rest. Outwardly Shikamaru had protested, though inwardly both he and Kakashi knew that Shikamaru didn't have the chakra for long term techniques.

The holding cells were located in the basement of the Hokage's tower, a fitting place considering all Shinobi received their missions in the building as well as reported their results after every mission. the guards let them pass without a word, and just as Kakashi had been told, Tsunade was waiting for them, Kiba beside her. Kakashi paused at the entrance of the room, Kiba and Tsunade were looking through a glass s window at a lineup of four men, all Shinobi Kakashi recognized, the silver haired Jonin couldn't help but feel his heart sink when Kiba spoke.

"They were all involved in the attack. The two on the left were wearing Naruto's blood like war paint, the man on the far right was standing over Naruto holding a broken bottle, and the last one, the man with the bandage around his hand, is the man I attacked after I saw him crouching over Naruto and punching him." Tsunade nodded grimly and waved her hand. The guards in the room nodded and lead all four men off, presumably to prison cells. Only after they were all gone did Tsunade and Kiba turn to face Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Oji.

"And this man is?" Tsunade asked.

" Gozumaru Oji, Naruto's Land lord." Kakashi answered.

"I see." Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest and eyed the man carefully. "Report."

"I used a transformation jutsu to disguise myself as Naruto, under the impression that I was Naruto Oji demanded 8000 Ryo in rent, when the money was not provided he resorted to physical violence. Izumo and Kotetsu are still at the scene gathering evidence."

"You son of a b-" Kiba started to yell, Tsunade silenced him with a firm grasp on the young Chunin's shoulder. Kakashi stepped forward holding the ledger out to Tsunade who quickly began skimming through the pages, the anger becoming more and more apparent the further she read.

"Guard!" she shouted at a Shinobi standing near the corner of the room. "Take this man to a holding cell!"

"Yes ma'am." was the simple response as he led Oji away. Tsunade waited for the door to click shut leaving the four of them alone before she continued, a stern glare keeping Kiba quiet.

"Kakashi, what specifically happened?" Tsunade asked, her voice measured and quiet.

"Let's put it this way; If the real Naruto had been there with a broken leg, crutches, and no money, Oji would have beaten him half to death and thrown his body into the streets. I get the feeling Naruto has been beaten by Oji before, but we'll have to ask Naruto that when he wakes up." Kakashi's answer only further angered Kiba who quivered in anger.

"Why the hell didn't you know about this earlier?" Kiba shouted, pointing a finger accusingly at Kakashi. "He's your student, your team mate, how the hell did you never notice anything? Were you that focused on that arrogant traitor Sasuke to even see Naruto needed help?!" Kiba's words echoed off the heavy stone walls.

"If you want me to say I failed Naruto, then yes I did." Kakashi stated "I failed as his teacher and as his commanding officer, but if we're going to play the blaming game, how could you not notice as his friend?" Kakashi's reply pierced Kiba's chest like a dagger. For all his rage Kiba knew Kakashi was right, he too had failed.

"I'm sorry Kakashi," Kiba started, his voice quiet and tone soft. "I should not have accused you like that when I'm guilty of the same crime."

"I've failed him too." Shikamaru added "Another in my long resume of failures."

"We're all guilty of it." Tsunade stated plainly, "However I doubt Naruto would agree with us."

"How do you figure that?" Kiba asked her. Tsunade took a moment to consider what she was about to say.

"What I'm about to tell you all is strictly classified," She began "This information does not leave this room, understood?" When all three nodded she continued.

"Shikamaru discovered Naruto's journal when I had Kakashi and him search Naruto's apartment for evidence of foul play. Shikamaru gave it to Kakashi and Kakashi gave it to me." Tsunade explained for Kiba's benefit. "I had hoped Naruto would have written down if he had received any threats that might give us some leads to who poisoned him, what I found was much more disturbing.

The Naruto that we all know; the carefree hyperactive, knuckleheaded optimist is nothing but a brilliant act. It's a mask, a cover, a false persona he created years ago to protect himself from the pain. He's been physically, emotionally, and financially abused his entire life" Shikamaru and Kiba glanced at each other nervously as they took in the information, Kakashi narrowed his eye warily, he had a good feeling where the conversation was heading and couldn't help but worry about how the two Chunin would handle the information.

"Why though?"Shikamaru spoke first "Why does Naruto get treated so terribly by people he's never done anything to hurt?"

"It's because of what Naruto has sealed within him." Tsunade answered.

"Wait...you don't mean..."Shikamaru's eyes went wide as the realization hit him.

"Yes, sealed inside Naruto is the Nine Tailed Fox."

"I see." Kiba whispered. "So that's why people call him a monster."

"And why Naruto was able to get through to Gaara so easily." Shikamaru ran a hand through his hair. Kakashi watched both Chunin closely, how they reacted to Tsunade's information would determine Kakashi's own reaction.

"He's not the Nine-Tailed Fox, he's Naruto Uzumaki, and more importantly he's our friend." Kiba declared proudly.

"He's saved all of our lives more than once, and he's the best friend we could ask for." Shikamaru added, Kakashi and Tsunade each felt a deep sense of relief as Kiba and Shikamaru make their stances known.

"I'm glad you two feel that way," Tsunade started "Naruto keeps all his pain hidden behind that mask of his, he kept his birthday a secret from everyone because of what has happened to him almost every year."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.

"Naruto's 12th birthday he was tied down and whipped by a mob, the year previous he was beaten half-to death. There are multiple entries in the book detailing assault after assault. If it wasn't for the Fox's Chakra healing him Naruto would have died years ago."

"Those bastards!" Kiba hissed.

"Naruto is going to need all the support he can get now. We need to see to it that he knows he does have people who care for him."

The three nodded in agreement.


	11. Fever Dream

Authors Note: I'll get this part out of the way right now: This is a transitional chapter that took me way to long, I'm unhappy with it, and I'd love to work more on it, but if I don't put it out now I'll never get to the more interesting bits. Now part of that is writers block that struck me hard in January, plus an incredibly hard semester (protip: Don't go into animation).

I thank all of you so much for your patience with my slow drivel of mediocrity and your reviews are what keep me plugging away at this when I should be eating, sleeping, studying, or working.

Fever Dream

There is a thin boundary between the waking world and sleep. To the sleeping brain, a night can pass in the blink of an eye, hours melt into seconds, and dreams fill the black void. When awake, seconds can melt into hours as the mind struggles to comprehend an overload of information. It was between those two extremes was the place Naruto found himself.

From time to time he could hear voices around him, sometimes they were clear and he could understand every word of the conversation, other times it was little more then muted noise. Naruto wasn't sure which he preferred anymore. When the conversations were clear and he could understand every word, the pain of his injuries was also fully intact, when the voices were nothing more then vague noises, the pain was also muted. He was either listening to someone talk while the physical pain overwhelmed him, or the silent darkness was pushing him to the brink of sanity.

He could remember the attack all too well, the first strike of the bottle shattering over his temple had made his vision flash white, before he had even hit the ground the first kunai had pierced his stomach, it's wielder twisting the cold metal sadistically. For Naruto time had frozen in that instant. When he screamed out for help in his agony a boot crushed his windpipe and he was left to scream in silence as more and more blades pierced and tore at his flesh. The seconds stretched into an eternity of punches, kicks, slashes, stabs, blood, and pain until all he longed for was one pierce of his heart to end it all.

Then, as all his hope had faded Kiba had arrived, all but one of the attackers ran, the last one lingered long enough to deliver a kick to Naruto's chest. He had felt the ribs shatter, the muscles tear, and his heart momentarily stop as the pain seared through his body. He didn't remember exactly what happened after that, he knew that Kiba was kneeling beside him and putting pressure on his wounds. He knew that Kiba's attempt to save his life was only prolonging his suffering, and as he used the last of his strength to reach up and grab Kiba's shirt he wanted to beg Kiba to kill him. Yet with his throat crushed the only noise that came out was a faint gurgle. Naruto's memory got somewhat nebulous after that.

He remembered Kiba holding his hand, then more agony as Choji and Shikamaru arrived and covered his wounds. He remembered a deep sense of exhaustion, an all-encompassing desire to rest, to lay down the burdens of his miserable and lonely existence. Naruto wasn't terribly upset when he realized he couldn't move anymore, to him it made sense; he took a bleak amusement as he realized that his heart's desperate pumping was causing the blood to pour from his flesh into the dirt below him. For all intents and purposes he was entirely paralyzed. Shikamaru had been yelling something at him; Naruto figured it was probably the genius Shinobi berating him. The last thing he remembered was the arrival of the medics, the pain of fresh bandages on his wounds had felt distant, like the echo's of a distant voice in a deep gorge, then one of them tried medical ninjutsu on him. Naruto's malaise was shattered as the medic tried to pour healing chakra into his shattered body, though instead of feeling his wounds stitched together like they normally would have, he felt as though every molecule in his body was lit ablaze. The agony had been so great that when the darkness that had been lingering on the periphery of his senses began to consume him, Naruto welcomed it with relief.

After that, there had been nothing but the silent void, and for a while he wondered if he had died and wound up in the boring level of hell. It wasn't until the pain returned, muted and distant as it was, that he knew he was alive. Though the closer he got to consciousness and thusly the closer the pain became, the more despondent Naruto felt as life slowly worked it's was back into him. For a while, he cursed his own durability, and prayed for one of his attackers to finish the job with a kunai through his heart. Hour by hour and day by day the pain intensified, like embers flowing across a dried leaf as he came closer and closer to consciousness. Eventually, and with great effort, Naruto opened his eyes to a world of blurred dim shapes and searing pain, tears began dripping from his eyes almost before he opened them.

He felt a spark of panic shoot through his tattered body as his eyes adjusted to the darkened room. He wanted to scream, yet he could only manage a soft gurgle, something large felt stuck in his throat and it extended up through his mouth. He tried to move, only to find his right arm and left leg paralyzed by heavy casts. Naruto brought his free hand up to investigate the odd feeling, though the pain coupled with his extended coma had hampered his motor skills, so instead of lightly brushing his fingers over his lips, Naruto unceremoniously slapped himself in the face. In normal circumstances Naruto would have been cursing his hand out, yet even that measly slap had sent a wave of pain through his head that brought more tears from his eyes. As Naruto felt the fabric like tape over his lips he slide his stiff and nearly numb fingers over his mouth, only feel his heart skip a beat as he felt the breathing tube. Naruto tried to scream, but the choked gurgle only made his throat hurt more. The panic he had managed to keep at bay began to move in too quickly for him to react. Naruto clawed desperately at the tube and the tape sealing it to his lips, his struggles sent more agony through his body that only made him writhe more which caused still further anguish. The machines around his began to blare loudly, further deeding Naruto's panic as he tried to free himself. His heart pounded in his chest as he struggled to escape, tears of agony pouring down his cheeks as he struggled. His body struggled harder and harder to escape the pain

Almost immediately there were hands on him, strong arms quelling his struggles and holding him firmly against the mattress. A fresh wave of panic shot through Naruto's system as flashes of the attack burned bright in his mind. Instinctively he tried to resist, though from his prolonged bed rest, Naruto's strength was no match for theirs. The last thing he felt was a cold feeling filling the veins of his good arm before he felt himself falling back into the abyss. For a second time Naruto was all to happy to give in to his weariness and welcomed the darkness that consumed him.

Kiba didn't dare exhale until Naruto went completely limp and the cardiac monitor stopped blaring its warning. He felt all the tension pour out of his body as he leaned heavily against the bed. His eyes glanced over to Tsunade who pulled a syringe out of Naruto's IV before capping the needle, placing it in the pocket of her over coat.

"What was in that?" he asked.

"A dose of morphine." Tsunade answered simply.

"Aren't you concerned about giving him something so potent?" Kakashi asked.

"It was either knock him out with that now or let him struggle himself literally until his body went into shock and he died. Tsunade sighed as she rubbed her forehead in irritation. "I've been purposely avoiding giving Naruto pain medication until now for the simple reason that without a clear idea of how much pain he was in I didn't want to over or under dose him. Now that I've seen his untreated conscious reaction I can easily figure out a dosage that should keep Naruto just somnolent enough to be in minimal pain, yet also be lucid and able to talk with us." As Tsunade finished her explanation Kiba and Kakashi exchanged a baffled look.

"Umm….How?" Kiba finally asked, feeling like a dumb rookie for needing to ask. Tsunade offered the boy a smile as she explained herself further.

"Since the advent of medical ninjutsu the more traditional medical practices have fallen out of use in countries with a hidden village as Medical ninja can easily treat a multitude of injuries and ailments. However all medical Shinobi must also know herbalism as well as the ancient medicinal practices for things chakra alone can not heal. For example if you were to be stabbed in battle I can use medical chakra to seal the wound and stimulate cellular mitosis. I can even use my chakra as a conduit to extract poison directly from the blood and organs if I need to, but even the most skilled medic could never get all of it. This is why the old techniques are used.

If I were to do an emergency extraction of a poison all I have done is buy precious time to concoct an antidote that will counter the cellular damage. No medical jutsu can fully repair everything, that's why we're trained in the old practices of Triage and traditional medicine. Every jutsu carries side effects, and the more potent the jutsu the more damaging the effect, every action will cause an equal and opposite reaction. So if I use chakra to accelerate the division of all of a person's cells, I will be reducing his or her overall lifespan and risk doing more damage then healing. Medical Jutsu's goal is to heal a wound to the point where it is no longer life threatening, and is capable of mending the rest of the way safely on it's own. That's why we bandage wounds and brace bones still. I could heal a broken arm completely, but the cells wouldn't stop dividing until well after I was done casting the jutsu resulting in even more damage then was done originally.

As for Naruto's pain, it's really a simple formula of his age, height, and weight multiplied by certain other factors and I have a dosage I can administer." Tsunade smiled again at the flummoxed looks Kiba and Kakashi gave her.

"All right, here's the plan," She started again, a smile beginning to crest her lips. "You two are free to leave, relax, get some food, whatever you need, but I need the both of you back here in four hours. Kakashi, bring Shikamaru with you and go over Ibiki's file on the attack. The dose I gave Naruto will have worn off by then which is when I can start his next course of medications. By the time you return he should be awake."

"What do you need us for though?" Kiba asked.

"Two things really, first I think Naruto would like some friendly faces when he wakes up, and I'm going to ask him what he remembers from the attack. You were the first on the scene Kiba, so you can corroborate anything Naruto says, and you may be able to answer some of his questions. Kakashi and Shikamaru will be here for similar reasons. Understood?" When both men nodded Tsunade smiled again "Dismissed for now, be back here in exactly four hours…On second thought, Kakashi, I want you here in Three hours and Fifteen minutes."

"What? Why?" The silver haired Jounin asked incredulously.

"Lets just call it insurance for your late streak. Now get out of here." She said with a smile. Kakashi pouted for a moment before he made his way to the door pushing it open to reveal Sakura holding a manila folder.

"Oh, excuse me Kakashi Sensei!" she said with a nervous laugh and a smile. He gave her a pat on the shoulder as he passed. Tsunade waved her over as she checked Naruto's IV once again.

"Well?" Tsunade said.

"I spent all night going through every known poison in our records, not one was a match, however when I looked over my own notes about the poison Sasori used against Kankuro I noticed some small similarities." Sakura said with a proud grin.

"Explain."

"Sasori used a heavy metal's based toxin which was simple enough to treat once I had identified it, even the Sand Shinobi should have been able to come up with an antidote to it, however the way Sasori crafted the poison made some of the traditional signs extremely hard to detect."

"So you think the poison used on Naruto is from Sasori?" Tsunade asked.

"I think it has enough similarities with his toxins that it's a solid lead at least." Sakura said.

"And how would you explain the mixed properties and chakra effects?"

"No poison can do that alone, unless maybe it's some strange mixture of several types of poisons?"

"Impossible, the only effect of mixing neurotoxins, cytotoxins, and lead based toxins would show signs of all three poisons, there simply is no poison capable of attacking a persons chakra network." Tsunade said as she folded her arms across her chest. "And if that's the case there isn't much we can do to cancel it out." Tsunade it her lower lip as she thought. Curse type jutsu were almost impossible to break or cancel out even by those familiar with the jutsu.

"Thank you Sakura, continue to study the toxin and report back anything else you find." Sakura bowed quickly to Tsunade as she left the room. Tsunade waited in silence for a few moments before cursing under her breath as she looked down at Naruto. "It's never easy with you is it kid?" she smiled sadly as she rand a hand through his matted blonde hair.

Once again Naruto found himself in the infinite void between dreams and waking, total sensory deprivation slowly giving way to distant and muffled noises he could not understand. As his mind drifting back to the waking world he became aware of the ache, a deep discomfort flowing through his body. This time it didn't get any worse, the resounding ache punctuated by stabs of agony was there yet it did not evolve into the crippling pain he had felt earlier. As the voices became more distinct Naruto found himself being pulled back to consciousness.

Kiba found himself in an odd position as he waited in the unusually crowded room. In addition to himself, Akamaru, Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, and Shikamaru Neji, Sakura, Hinata, Lee, Ten Ten, Choji, Ino, even Shino had all showed up. The idea that so many other people would be there when Naruto woke up bothered Kiba on an unusually deep level. None of them had been there, Shikamaru and Choji had only shown up after the mob had vanished. Only Kiba had seen the violence, only he had been there to protect Naruto, but he had only been there because Shikamaru had asked him to check up on Naruto, and even then Kiba had been in no rush to find his sickly friend, so what right did he have to be there?

Adding to Kiba's discomfort was the thick fabric cuffs Tsunade and Shizune had fastened against Naruto's uninjured wrist and ankle. Each cuff was secured to the rails of the bed and allowed about 18 inches of movement in any direction. Kiba understood why they were there, Naruto could kill himself if he struggled too much, this way he was less likely to seriously hurt himself; granted that theory relied on them being able to explain that to Naruto and hoping he would remain calm enough to understand them. Kiba highly doubted that anyone would remain calm waking up to find himself or herself crippled with pain and shackled to a hospital gurney. Kiba bit back a sigh as he reached out to pet Akamaru's head, the ninja hound having sat himself at the foot of Naruto's bed with his head resting on the mattress. He took a quick glance around the room noting the several soft conversations all around him before he returned his attention to his dog. He was about to get up and take a short walk around the room to stretch his legs when he noticed the slightest twitch in Naruto's fingers. His heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his chest as he stared at the comatose blonde's delicate hand, as though he was trying to convince himself that the motion wasn't just a figment of his imagination.

The seconds seemed to stretch into hours as he watched Naruto for any sign of movement, and just as he was about to resign himself to simply imagining things Naruto's hand began to move again, the fingers slowly curling into a weak fist. Kiba heard a shift in Naruto's breathing as the boy tried to whimper or moan, but with the breathing tube down his throat no such sounds were possible. Excitement filled Kiba's soul as he took Naruto's hand in his.

"He's awake!" Kiba blurted loudly. In an instant all the other conversations died as everyone gathered around Naruto's bed. Tsunade took up a position beside Kiba and gently brushed her hand over Naruto's cheek. It was easy for everyone to track how close to consciousness Naruto was, the more cognizant he became the more his golden eyebrows would furrow together. Once again he began gagging on his breathing tube, however with Tsunade's hand on his wrist his arm only quivered uselessly.

"Naruto," Tsunade began, her voice clear and firm "Your just waking up, in a recovery room, you have a tube down your throat to help you breathe okay? I know it's uncomfortable but you can't take it out until your chest is a little better, can you understand me?"

There was a brief pause before Naruto nodded weakly.

"Your right eye is under a bandage Naruto, so don't get upset when you can't open it yet okay?" she paused again, continuing when Naruto slowly nodded "Good, now try to open your left eye Naruto, you have a lot of people in here who were worried sick about you." When there was no visible response Tsunade tried again "Come on Naruto, open your left eye for us." Naruto's brow began to furrow slightly as he struggled to do such a basic thing, Tsunade repeated her request again and after several long minutes Naruto's blue eye finally creaked open.

From his perspective Naruto only saw a blurry light blob, he could feel people touching him and he could hear then saying things to him, but his eye was having a hard time focusing on them. Slowly his vision began to clear and the faces of his friends became visible, everyone had a large smile, most were rubbing the tears from their eyes. Tsunade and Kiba were the easiest faces to focus on, mostly because they were the closest. Tsunade's cool hand stroked gently over Naruto's fevered forehead. In spite of his best efforts Naruto found it increasingly hard to keep his eye open, moreover he felt no particular desire to resist as his heavy eyelid slowly closed and sleep claimed his mind.

Tsunade allowed herself a smile, Naruto had only been conscious for seven minutes, but given that the primary side effect of the medications she had him on was a strong feeling of somnolence she wasn't surprised that he had fallen asleep quickly. She had warned Naruto's friends that this was a strong possibility in advance, so she was relieved when nobody began to worry or shout. Naruto wasn't out of the woods yet, but Tsunade felt safe in thinking he had gotten through the worst of it.

Far across town Kabuto hummed softly as he closed the door to Naruto's apartment. A female ANBU officer in a cat mask stood up straighter as she saw him leave the room.

"Did everything go well sir?" She asked as she leaned on a hip.

"Yes, the surprises are set and ready." He said with a smile. "I thank you for keeping an eye out for me while I was working."

"Anytime sir, the Nine-Tails killed my Mother, I'll do anything to see it killed." She hissed.

"You'll get that wish fulfilled in good time my friend, Fist however we get to have some fun with it though. After all, playthings are only fun while they're still alive." He said with a smile.


	12. Confession of a Wearied Soul

Confession of a Wearied Soul

Ye Olde Preamble: So, fun fact I may or may not have mentioned about my writing method: I get my inspirations and motivations from music, when I wish to write something happy I listen to music that makes me happy, dark chapters get dark musical inspirations (usually dark in sound if not lyrically). So bearing that in mind here is your hint for the upcoming chapter: Eight Melodies – from Earth Bound 0's soundtrack. So as not to spoil anything for those of you who enjoy this, please see my thoughts and the end of the chapter for why this took so long. Hope you all enjoy!

-Miro

Five weeks, eight days, two hours and 46 seconds had elapsed since Orochimaru had battled Naruto to a standstill and the renegade Sanin found himself in a much better mood then he had been after that disgrace. Kabuto's situation report had finally reached him from the Hidden Leaf. The letter gave the pale Shinobi a detailed list of everything that had been done and was about to be done to the young host, a detailed account of Naruto's rapid reaction to the white scorpion as well as a blow-by-blow description of the attack. All of it gave Orochimaru a very warm feeling in the bottom of his heart. However what had interested Orochimaru the most had been Kabuto's request pertaining to the White Scorpion itself.

The key to the poison was the chakra being channeled through it and into the victim, which suppressed their Chakra network and allowed the toxin's to slowly eat away at the body. Calling it a poison was a almost a misnomer as the toxin's used were, functionally speaking, a distraction from the White Scorpion's true application which was closer to a very sophisticated sealing jutsu. In order to continue suppressing the Chakra network of another person the user had to maintain a constant chakra connection with the poison, in this case Orochimaru had set up a special chakra array in one of his laboratories with a shadow clone at the center of the array to transmit the chakra which he had to replace every three days.

Kabuto's report requested that Orochimaru release the jutsu to allow Naruto to recover to the point of being released from the hospital where he was simply too well protected. Orochimaru crossed his arms over his chest as he weighed the options in his mind. As talented as Kabuto was, Orochimaru knew the boy wouldn't be able to sneak past four ANBU captains, and even if he did Tsunade had taken a strong liking to the blonde boy. If she wasn't there personally then it was safe to assume that people she trusted would be in the room keeping vigil. A direct attack was also out of the question as nobody would be able to kill four ANBU captains silently or quickly, any attempt to fight them would raise the alarms instantly.

Worse yet if Kabuto was discovered Orochimaru would have to worry about Tsunade herself pounding down his door, most likely with Jiraiya in tow. Orochimaru was fairly confident from past experience that in a one-on-one fight between himself and Tsunade or Jiraiya the battle would end in a stalemate, but two on one he would be crushed. He couldn't rely on Sasuke to fight the Sanin, the boy would simply abandon him and being his hunt for Itachi, it was becoming hard enough just to keep the young Uchiha satisfied. It was somewhat amusing to Orochimaru that in his quest to raise the perfect vessel for his soul he had created a vessel that was becoming to strong and intelligent to handle. Sasuke would seize upon any perceived weakness like the predator Orochimaru had trained him to be. An attack from the 5th Hokage and Jiraiya would give the boy more then ample reason to abandon Orochimaru, that situation had to be avoided at all costs.

With a thought Orochimaru's shadow clone disappeared and the chakra began to fade. Orochimaru also felt a great relief as the shadow clone was no longer siphoning chakra from him. He had not expected Naruto to be quite as resilient as he had proven to be, nor had he expected such a prolonged use of a shadow clone in that manner to leave him as drained as it had. In honesty he had no idea how many more days he could have maintained the stamina needed to continue suppressing Naruto's much greater chakra pool. In no more then a day or two the White Scorpion would be a simple toxin that a person that was a demon container, like Naruto, would most likely survive without the need of an antidote. It was a setback, but Orochimaru couldn't help but smile. Kabuto had laid out what Orochimaru considered a very intriguing plan. He only regretted that he couldn't risk seeing it himself.

Four days later back in the Hidden Leaf and Tsunade found herself walking slowly down the halls of the Leaf Hospital carrying a wooden crutch and feeling more uncomfortable with the entire situation then she did when Naruto first stumbled into her office. The last four days had seen an unprecedented turnaround in Naruto's condition; his chakra network had gone from completely blocked to simply unstable in a night. The Kunai wounds that had been life threatening days before had since mended to the point of being flesh wounds. His ribs and lungs had progressed to the point where Tsunade had been able to remove the chest tubes and take Naruto off the ventilator and by the feel of things even his crushed vocal chords were starting to heal.

Kiba, Sakura, Shikamaru and the other members of Naruto's circle of friends were elated by the seemingly miraculous turnaround. However, decades of experience had taught Tsunade to be extremely cynical, particularly when it came to medicine. There had defiantly been poison in Naruto's system, and that poison had been acting almost like a chakra receiver for someone. Ibiki had been working with the few suspects arrested for the attack, but even he couldn't get a shred of information on the identities of the ringleaders. Tsunade planned to ask Naruto about it after he had healed up much more, but she would have been surprised if Naruto could even remember what color shirt he was wearing that day. She paused a moment as she approached the doors to Naruto's room to wipe the errant thoughts from her mind. As a doctor she could never her patients to see her concerns, with a quick breath she pushed the doors open and bit back a snicker as she took in the scene.

Naruto had the look of a man surrounded and forlorn as Sakura, Hinata, Lee, Shikamaru, Choji, Sai, and the ever-present Kiba stood on either side of his bed subtly vying for his attention. The birthday cards, get-well cards, and trinkets that had been decorating the life support equipment were now being all but shoveled upon him as he was trapped in his bed. For his part Naruto was trying his best to smile and be appreciative, but Tsunade was very sure everyone could tell that the boy was going through the motions. His smile was meek and tired, his eyes were dull, and the few words he did use were deliberately chosen and timidly offered. Things nearly got awkward when Sai noticed and attempted to lift Naruto's spirit.

"You look so happy I'd swear they cut your ba-" Sai's sentence was mercifully stopped as Sakura smacked the back of his head. Tsunade took the disruption as her cue to interrupt.

"All right kids, visiting passes are temporarily revoked. Your welcome to wait in the hall until I say you can come back in or, with the exceptions of Kiba and Sakura, the rest of you are free to go about your day." After a few brief goodbye's the gathering left Tsunade alone with Naruto, she waited until she heard the doors click shut before turning her gaze to Naruto. His face was sullen, his blue eyes directed up at the ceiling, though his glaze seemed to be looking past the surface. His lips traced an even line across his mouth showing no interest or emotion.

"How does your throat feel today?" She asked, keeping her tone gentle.

"Tight." Was his simple reply, his voice raw and weak.

"Well you sound better then you did yesterday at least," she smiled lightly as she set her clipboard down on his nightstand. "Think we can get you to sit up?"

Naruto's reaction was expected, but still disheartening to Tsunade. He clenched his eyes shut as his jaw line tensed.

"Just long enough for me to check the wound's on your back Naruto, then you can lay back down." She offered a gentle smile to him as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She had tried to get him to sit up the previous morning, but from his horizontal position they only made it 15 degree's up before Naruto simply couldn't take the pain. Tsunade was confident she could get him up where she needed him if she injected more pain killers into his IV, but the last thing she wanted was for Naruto to develop a dependency on narcotics. Naruto kept his eyes squeezed shut as he nodded his consent. Gently sliding her arm behind Naruto's shoulders while placing her free hand gingerly on his chest she cautiously lifted his back from the mattress. She felt his body getting tense before she heard his barely repressed whimpers of pain.

"Just tell me when things get too bad and we'll stop." She stated as clearly as she could. Naruto's jaw line set as he clenched his teeth, fully intent to work through his pain. Tsunade held her breath as she lifted him higher, taking time to pause every few seconds to let Naruto rest. She only allowed herself a breath once she had propped Naruto into a reclined sitting position. She made a point to get a good look at Naruto's face at that moment, noting a slightly increased perspiration as well as paleness in his skin. He had his eyes and mouth clenched shut as he struggled to contain his suffering.

"If this hurts too much you need to tell me Naruto." She stated with a sympathetic tone.

"I can take it." Was his quiet response, uttered through gritted teeth.

Tsunade frowned as she undid the topknot of Naruto's hospital gown and, careful to work around the caste that enveloped his right had and wrist up to the middle of his forearm let the gown fall forward. Adjusting her grip she carefully peeled off several of the bandages eliciting a soft 'ow' from Naruto as the tape pulled at his skin. Each of the stab wounds had healed to the point of being lines of bright red scar tissue which at the rate he had started to progress would most likely be healed like they had never been there.

"You're healing up very well Naruto, but I'm going to have to take out these stitches before your body heals much further, other wise it could be a problem." She continued removing bandages that covered the remaining scars until his back was free of them. "You still doing all right Naruto?" She asked as she shifted her position to better see his face.

"Sure." He answered, "It doesn't hurt as bad as it did."

"Well that will probably change when we lay you back down, and stretch your muscles out a bit. Before that though I need to lay you on your side so I can get these stitches out before your skin starts healing around them all right?" She waited for Naruto to nod his consent before shifting him to his side. As Naruto's stiff muscles began to make their protestations known he hissed lightly through gritted teeth, which gave Tsunade a moment of pause. As soon as he had settled down she retrieved the needed scissors and pliers and set to work carefully clipping the stitches just below the knot and gently tugging them free of Naruto's pastel flesh.

"That feels really weird." Naruto muttered after Tsunade pulled the last stitch on a stab that had pierced his left lung.

"Sorry," she answered quickly as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder for a moment "There are quite a lot of sutures to remove so this will take a bit, but if you start feeling sick or the pain gets too great tell me and we'll stop okay?"

Naruto gave her a sullen nod that Tsunade found herself intrigued by, and as she resumed her work she could not help but contemplate what the teen was thinking. It was obvious enough Naruto was in a complex malaise over something or some combination of things that he wasn't speaking of. From reading his journal she had a suspicion as to where some of his depression was based, but she was positive that those issues were merely the tip of a much larger iceberg.

"Have you looked through all the cards everyone brought you?" she asked gently. Naruto's reply was hesitant.

"Not really."

"Naruto, is something bothering you?" Tsunade asked her concern apparent in her voice, it made Naruto tense slightly.

"Not really." He said again, his tone slightly sharper then before. Tsunade sighed lightly before setting her scissors and pliers down. She walked around the bed and crouched down in front of Naruto, his blue eyes looked down at the sheets as he tried to avoid eye contact or direct communication.

"Naruto," she started as she placed a warm hand on his shoulder "You know I think of you like my little brother, there's nothing you can't talk to me about. I know that you don't want to burden anyone, that you feel like you need to keep your feelings hidden under a mask of blind optimism," she paused as Naruto's gaze melted from cold avoidance to a resounding sadness over something she didn't yet understand "You have more friends then you realize Naruto, people who care deeply for you and want to help you if you would just let us in."

"No they wouldn't" Naruto replied, his voice barely above a whisper, though the weight of the words nearly bowled Tsunade over.

"And why not? I know for a fact Hinata thinks the world of you."

"She shouldn't."

"And just why not Naruto?" Tsunade demanded, keeping her voice soft enough to prevent anyone outside hearing. She expected, and hoped, Naruto would become combatative with her, just like he used to act when someone challenged him. Instead she felt her heart sink as Naruto remained silent, tears welling in his eyes.

"Why shouldn't she? You're the kindest and bravest person in this village, you-"

"No I'm not." He spat back as he brought his had to his eyes, his body starting to tremble with repressed emotions. "I'm a filthy god damned coward who doesn't even have the guts to admit what I am."

Tsunade recoiled slightly, baffled by the assertion. She couldn't help but push a little further though, feeling like she was finally getting a look under that desiccated mask Naruto wore for so long.

"You mean that you're a Jinchuriki?"

"…no…" he replied quietly, his shoulders sagging as though his last reserves of willpower had faded from his body like an ethereal breeze. He let out a shaky sigh as he removed his had from his face, eyes rimmed pink and his jaw set obstinately as he tried to hold back his emotions. "I'll never be more then an outcast, no matter how much I achieve or how strong I get. Even if I were to singlehandedly save the village from an unparalleled catastrophe I'd still be dodging garbage in the streets every day and paying Oji every last cent I earn cleaning grafitti off my door and getting holes in the walls filled. No Shinobi is going to want to be around a Jinchuriki much less one like me."

"And what do you think you are Naruto?" She asked softly. Naruto said nothing for several minutes, those the corners of his mouth fidgeted as though he was struggling to form his words. She placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned closer to look him in the eye. "Well?"

Naruto's stone façade crumbled as he started to weep openly. Tsunade's concern grew as her hand gently rubbed his shoulder in a vain attempt to provide reassurance.

"I…I'm sorry I've lied to you for so long" he whispered through sniffles and quiet sobs.

"Sorry for what Naruto?" she asked softly.

"That I didn't have the guts to tell you that I'm…I'm gay" the last two words were barely a whisper, but hit Tsunade like a train. So many things finally snapped into place logically. She almost laughed at the epiphany she experienced in that moment.

"Naruto," She said with a gentle smile before carefully hugging the boy "You truly do remind me of my little brother."

"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice expressing his emotional exhaustion.

"Just after Nawaki became a Genin, he came to me in tears and begged me not to hate him. When I asked him what I could ever hate him for he told me that he was gay." She explained with the sad smile she usually wore when she thought of her little brother. Naruto stared at her with stunned wide eyes.

"I told him then the same thing that I'll tell you now, that he was my baby brother, and no matter who he fell in love with, man or woman, that I would always be there to love and support him. And I'll be here for you too Naruto, whenever you need to talk about anything or to stand behind you whenever your ready to tell someone else, okay?" she smiled warmly.

Naruto remained silent for several seconds before he flung himself, as best he could from his position, into her arms, crying softly into her shoulder. Tsunade hummed an old song she used to sing for Nawaki when he was little and upset. She could sense this was the first truly cathartic moment of Naruto's life, and she wouldn't dare move away until he could support himself again.

Well, that was different I suppose. As promised this is where I clear the air a bit: For those who didn't know I am a bisexual man who tends to prefer men to women, this scene was particularly difficult to write as coming out of the closet for bi and gay men (and women) is a very personal and difficult subject to broach even with those we love dearly. I wanted to try and show Naruto's desire to be honest with himself as well as his fear of how the truth would alter the relationships he values most. Hopefully it read well to all of you.

It's been my plan for Naruto to come out to Tsunade first since the beginning and while I initially wasn't sure where to put that scene this chapter seemed to fit the best, he chooses to reveal himself to her as in my opinion she is the closest thing to a mother/sisterly for he has in his life. I'm sorry about the Nawaki thing, but his character was minor enough to where I think I can get away with it with only minor damage to plausibility. I almost chose to impose that role on the 2nd hokage, but felt that if I did then I would have resorted to the worst habit of yaoi writers, aka the "everyone 's gay" approach. So that's that, I hope you enjoyed and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Much love to you all (even those of you never comment)

-Miro


End file.
